The proposals also included, fare capping, and potentially removing the ability to use cash to pay for fares.

Aside from the 1933 submissions, there are expected to be a few postal submissions arrive from the consultation, between 13 July and 29 July. People were asked to choose zone options for both the Dunedin, including Oamaru, and Queenstown public transport networks. The submissions’ data is still being analysed.

ORC’s Transport portfolio co-lead Cr Alan Somerville thanked all the people who took time to make a submission.

“The high number of submissions shows just how much public interest there is and reflects the importance of having an accessible public transport system,” Cr Somerville says.

ORC’s General Manager Regional Planning and Transport, Anita Dawe thanked the public for their strong engagement with 1933 submissions: one of the largest public responses to a consultation.

“We’re always well supported by the public in any engagement around transport and really appreciate everyone’s decision to engage so that we can provide robust information to Council, on future decisions,” Ms Dawe says.

“The proposed zone structure is much simpler than the one used in Dunedin in the past and we wanted to find out whether the zones are simple and easy to understand. Allowing for these zones will enable us to move much effectively into further regional public transport,” Cr Somerville says.

A decision on the new zone and fare changes will be considered by the Council in September. If approved, they would be phased in between October 2026 and mid- 2027.

The proposed changes follow feedback and council direction ORC received while developing its Regional Public Transport Plan.

During the RPTP consultation, many people supported zones, commenting it was unfair for people travelling a short distance to pay the same fares as someone travelling further.