Otago Regional Council (ORC): current public transport plans for Queenstown

Position as at 18 October 2026. Every figure is cited to a document ID in the evidence base, with the page number. Page numbers are PDF page numbers unless marked "printed". The data series are in the charts and tables on this page.

Overview

ORC is the regional council responsible for planning, contracting and funding public transport in Otago. In Queenstown that means the Orbus bus network, run under contract Units 6 and 7, and the Lake Whakatipu ferry. ORC also co-chairs the joint Otago and Southland Regional Transport Committees, which prepare the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP).

ORC's current Queenstown planning rests on five documents and decisions:

• the Queenstown Public Transport Business Case (QPTBC, 2024) [QTS-095];
• the Regional Public Transport Plan 2025–2035 [QTS-103];
• the LTP 2024–34 [QTS-154];
• the RLTP mid-term review (2024) [QTS-148];
• the Regional Deal signed on 6 October 2026 [QTS-139].

1. Patronage and fare revenue

Bus patronage by financial year (Queenstown Orbus) [QTS-151 p.260, Figure 9]

Fare revenue and ferry

Fare changes

• Adult Bee Card fares rose from $2.00 to $2.50, and child Bee Card fares of $1.50 were reintroduced, from 30 September 2025 [QTS-151 p.260].
• The ferry Bee Card fare has been $10 since July 2023 (cash fare $14) [QTS-150 p.130].

Service performance in 2025/26 [QTS-151 pp.47–48]

• 98% of scheduled Whakatipu services were delivered.
• 92% departed on time.
• Passenger satisfaction was 91%.

2024/25 results [QTS-152 pp.71–72]

• 99.4% of trips were run.
• 90.3% were punctual.
• Satisfaction was 92%.

2. Costs and funding

ORC does not publish a single Queenstown-only series of gross cost and funding split. The closest equivalent is the ORC activity "Public Transport – Wakatipu" (also called "PT – Queenstown" / "PT – Whakatipu"; covers bus, ferry and PT infrastructure operating spend). ORC reports actual revenue and expenditure for it, sometimes split by funding type, in the Q4/year-end finance reports to the Finance Committee or Council. Figures below are $000 unless stated. "Grants" is ORC's own label; the reports do not name NZTA separately, although the commentary attributes Whakatipu grant variances to NZTA (e.g. QTS-183 p.42). "Other income" includes fare revenue but is not limited to it.

Wakatipu activity actuals

The activity is "Public Transport – Wakatipu". Figures are $000 unless a cell says otherwise.

Budgets for the same years

• 2019/20: exp 6,855; TR 845; grants 2,221; other 3,401 [QTS-181 p.110].
• 2020/21: exp 7,814; TR 990; grants 2,389; other 4,081 [QTS-182 p.83].
• 2021/22: exp 9,767; TR 1,290; grants 3,560; other 3,710 [QTS-183 p.51].
• 2022/23: exp 11,261; TR 1,737; grants 4,843; other 3,016 [QTS-184 p.20].
• 2023/24: revenue 9,534; exp 10,532 [QTS-185 p.30].

Notes on the actuals

• 2021/22: grants were $757,000 above budget because of the central-government 50% fare discount from April 2022, which NZTA funded [QTS-183 p.42]. Wakatipu fare revenue was $1,591,000 below its $2,750,000 budget, including $630,000 for the ferry. The ferry was still a trial, with the operator keeping fares and ORC paying a net subsidy [QTS-183 pp.42–43]. Expenditure was $1,270,000 under budget, of which $500,000 related to the ferry trial [QTS-183 p.40].
• 2022/23: Whakatipu fare revenue was $575,000 below its $3,016,000 budget, with the ferry $812,000 below budget [QTS-184 p.9]. On the expenditure side, ferry spend was $1,298,000 lower, bus driver wages added $721,000 and low-cost/low-risk projects added $386,000 [QTS-184 p.18].
• 2023/24: the grants increase included Community Connect, a funding share of increased service costs and "a one-off historic funding washup" [QTS-185 p.19].
• 2024/25: NZTA subsidies were below budget because "Budgeted improvements and infrastructure did not proceed so budgeted NZTA funding not claimed" [QTS-186 pp.10–11]. A $550,000 surplus was carried forward [QTS-186 p.11; QTS-151 p.52].

Budgets and forecasts

Figures are $000 unless a cell says otherwise. "Subsidies and grants" is ORC's own label.

What the source does not explain

• QTS-187 does not explain why "Rates revenue" exceeds the targeted rate. The 20% general-rate allocation to PT (QTS-154 p.19) may account for the difference, but that is an inference.

Earlier budgeted expenditure

• LTP 2018-19: 6,623 [QTS-173 p.36].
• AP 2019-20: 6,855 [QTS-173 p.36].
• AP 2020-21: 7,814, including the ferry trial [QTS-174 p.37].
• 2021/22 LTP: 9,767 [QTS-175 p.32].
• AP 2022-23: 11,261 [QTS-175 p.32].
• AP 2023-24: 10,532 [QTS-176 p.37].

Targeted rate as allocated in each plan

• 2017/18: $690,000 [QTS-172 p.64].
• 2019/20: $972,000 [QTS-173 p.62].
• 2020/21: $1,139,000 [QTS-174 p.64].
• 2022/23: $1,737k (ex GST) [QTS-179 p.1].
• 2023/24: $2,367,052 [QTS-176 p.62].
• 2024/25: $4,263,263 incl GST [QTS-154 p.109].
• 2025/26: $4,050,114 [QTS-153 p.90].
• 2026/27: $4,985,806 [QTS-177 p.90].
• The pre-2024 amounts appear to be GST-inclusive: each is about 1.15 times the ex-GST budget shown in the finance reports. This is an inference.

LTP 2021-31 forecast for the Wakatipu PT targeted rate [QTS-178 p.73]

• The base year (2020/21) is 990.

FYI contract costs and fares

SR.5793 revised response, Oct 2025 (request 31532) [QTS-190 F2]

• Figures are ORC's own annual summary rows. Fares exclude SuperGold.

Original release, the same request [QTS-190 F1 p.3]

• It gives different "direct costs" for the Wakatipu bus contracts. Both versions are set out below.
• The release also states: "NZTA will fund up to 51% of applicable spend and their share is capped" [QTS-190 F1 p.1].

#### Where the sources differ

Bus contract costs for Units 6 and 7. ORC published two versions of the same LGOIMA response [QTS-190]. The original release and the revised spreadsheet do not match. ORC says the revision attributes wage uplift separately, and that the data has late-invoice discrepancies.

Fare revenue is published on different bases. The sources do not reconcile them.

For 2023/24, a finance report puts Whakatipu fares $732,000 above a $3.5 million budget, about $4.23 million. That figure appears to include the ferry [QTS-185 p.20]. For 2018/19, a committee figure of $3,519,571 [QTS-180 p.33] is about 1.15 times the GST-exclusive monthly sum of $3,061,042 [QTS-191]. The committee figure is therefore probably GST-inclusive. That is an inference.

Request 14121, Dec 2020 [QTS-191]

• Wakatipu bus fare revenue excluding GST was $3,061,042 in FY2018/19 and $2,298,772 in FY2019/20. These are sums of the monthly values in the spreadsheet.
• Monthly contract payments at the time were $272,500 for Unit 6 and $156,107.67 for Unit 7.

Other funding sources

• QLDC: AP 2017-18 says Queenstown Lakes District Council "will also contribute funding to assist the sustainability of the $2 fare" [QTS-172 p.6]. In June 2024 a QLDC statement reported by Crux referred to "a contribution to the Otago Regional Council of $700k for the bus subsidy", funded from parking revenue [QTS-196]. No ORC document reviewed shows this as a named line.
• Crown / CERF: ORC's documents reviewed do not name the Climate Emergency Response Fund for Wakatipu. The half-price fares (April 2022 to 2023) and Community Connect are described as NZTA-funded and appear within "grants" [QTS-183 p.42; QTS-185 p.19]. Community Connect is described as 100% NZTA-funded under PT – Other [QTS-184 p.18].
• Port Otago / cruise: applies to Dunedin only and is not relevant here.

Farebox policy

• RPTP 2021-31: ORC "intends to ensure that a 40 - 50% farebox recovery is met but maintain flexibility in how it applies this across its services and geography" [QTS-188 p.63]. NZTA removed the 50% target as a funding condition in mid-2018 [QTS-188 p.63].
• RPTP 2025-35: this plan uses private-share targets instead (see below) [QTS-103 p.131].
• QLDC submission on the 2025 draft RPTP: QLDC asked ORC to retain the $2 base fare or minimise fare increases, and to favour other private-share sources over higher farebox recovery [QTS-197 pp.5–6].

Queenstown transport targeted reserve

All Queenstown transport flows through this reserve [QTS-152 p.146; QTS-151 p.65]. Targeted rates are used "in Dunedin and Queenstown to fund… bus services" [QTS-152 p.146].

Earlier years from the Annual Report notes ($000; opening / in / out / closing)

The source does not define what the transfers comprise. They match activity revenue in some years but not others, so they are not used as gross cost.

Whakatipu Public Transport targeted rate ($000)

• 2024/25 LTP: 3,707 [QTS-154 p.113].
• 2025/26: 3,522 in the Annual Plan (3,572 in the LTP) [QTS-153 p.92]. That is $4,050,114 including GST [QTS-153 p.90].
• 2026/27 (adopted AP, 29 April 2026): 4,335, compared with 5,568 in the LTP [QTS-177 p.93]. That is $4,985,806 including GST [QTS-177 p.90]. The rate rises 23.1% ($0.813m) "due to continued delivery of service improvements" [QTS-177 p.8].
• LTP forecasts for later years [QTS-154 p.113]:

Rate policy

• A 20% general rate allocation was introduced for public transport, and existing Whakatipu PT deficits are to be repaid over the first five years of the LTP [QTS-153 p.92; QTS-154 p.19].
• The 10-year Public Transport Whakatipu reserve forecast is: opening (2,317), in 195,592, out (193,450), closing (175) ($000) [QTS-154 p.90].

Other cost points

• 2025/26 cost increase: Queenstown PT costs rose by $1.2m in 2025/26, funded from carried-over unspent operating transport funds [QTS-153 p.9]. A $550,000 2024/25 surplus was carried forward for PT Whakatipu [QTS-151 p.52].
• 2025/26 fares above budget: Queenstown fare revenue was $1,176,000 above budget, including $368,000 of ferry fares [QTS-151 p.50].
• NZTA grants not received: $1.521m of NZTA grants for Whakatipu PT capital works was not received because the projects did not proceed [QTS-152 p.95].

Region-wide funding mix, 2024/25 (Otago-wide, not Queenstown-only) [QTS-103 p.86, Figure 13]

The private share of operating costs was 18.7% in 2023/24. Targets are 20%, 23% and 25% for 2024/25 to 2026/27 [QTS-103 p.131].

QPTBC estimates [QTS-095 pp.62, 112]

• Current operating cost is about $7.5m.
• Fare recovery is assumed at 37%.
• Capital is normally funded 49% local / 51% NLTP.
• QLDC budgets $0.5–1m a year for bus infrastructure.

3. Contracts

Earlier documents give different expiry dates for Units 6 and 7. This page uses November 2029, the date ORC stated most recently.

Ferry history

• April 2020: ORC consulted on an 18-month trial, with a start proposed for January 2021 and funding from targeted rates [QTS-193].
• AR 2020/21: "The ferry trial commenced, however at a reduced level of service" [QTS-168 p.57].
• 2021/22: patronage topped 60,000 [QTS-169 p.51].
• 26 Oct 2022: Bee Card accepted on the ferry [QTS-194].
• 2021/22 and 2022/23: the ferry was budgeted as a gross-fare route but remained a trial on a net-cost basis [QTS-183 p.43; QTS-170 p.81].
• The 2025/26 Annual Plan and 2026/27 AP dropped the planned ferry service expansion after NZTA declined co-funding [QTS-153 p.7; QTS-177 p.54].

Re-tender timetable [QTS-151 p.213]

• Procurement preparation for Units 6 and 7 will begin in late 2027.
• The request for proposals (RFP) is due for release in the first half of 2028.

4. Queenstown Public Transport Business Case (QPTBC, 2024)

Endorsement and assurance

• The QPTBC was endorsed by ORC and NZTA.
• Its preferred programme sets out staged service improvements, a carbon-neutral fleet by 2035 and infrastructure [QTS-095; QTS-154 p.70].
• Assurance runs through the Way to Go board, then ORC, then NZTA endorsement [QTS-095 p.114, Table 13-1].

Staging [QTS-149 pp.49–50, 66]

• Stage 1 ("quick wins" in the 2024–27 NLTP) was implemented on 30 June 2025, on terms agreed with Ritchies. It increased peak frequencies and added a Malaghans Rd connection between Arrowtown, central Queenstown and Jacks Point.
• Stage 2 covers "substantial and transformational service improvements in the 2027–2030 NLTP, including gradual electrification" and high-capacity buses.
• Stage 3 covers frequency increases beyond 2030.

Capital estimates (P50) [QTS-095 p.108, Table 12-1]

Funding forecast [QTS-095 p.112, Table 12-4]

• Preferred-programme services cost $11.0M a year (FY24/25–26/27), $20.5M a year (2027–30) and $23.25M a year (2030–33).
• The baseline continuous programme is $7.56M a year.

5. Electric bus depot

Business case (August 2025) [QTS-156 pp.7–8]

• The redacted business case, prepared by Rationale for ORC, preferred leasing a Queenstown Airport Corporation site at Grant Rd/Hawthorne Dr (Option 4), targeting delivery by November 2029.
• It recommended joint procurement of the depot with the bus operations contract.
• It states that "Resources and finances to progress delivery have not been allocated at this stage".

ORC decision (6 March 2026) [QTS-157]

• ORC decided it "will not lead the development of an electric bus charging depot in Queenstown" and will "leave the provision of charging and depot facilities to the market".

6. RLTP entries (mid-term review 2024, in force to 30 June 2027) [QTS-148]

Queenstown PT Improvements, services

• Regional priority 1 [QTS-148 p.63].
• Implementation $5,275,899 in 2026/27; $20,903,596 over 2024–30; $41,507,192 over 10 years [QTS-148 p.78].

Queenstown PT Improvements, infrastructure

• $47,000,000 in 2026/27, regional priority 27 [QTS-148 pp.63, 80].

Region-wide PT operations ("Public Transport Programme 2024–27")

• $87,436,768 over 2024–27 (region-wide) [QTS-148 p.78].

Alexandra–Queenstown trial

• An Alexandra to Queenstown trial was included in the LTP and RLTP. NZTA co-funding was not secured and the trial was removed from the draft Annual Plan 2025/26 [QTS-151 p.128].

7. Regional Deal: ORC commitments (signed 6 October 2026) [QTS-139 pp.24–26]

As at 6 Oct 2026

• The ORC RLTP is to consult on high-priority PT initiatives.
• ORC is to prepare a business case for PT connections between Whakatipu, Wānaka, Cromwell and Alexandra.
• ORC is to "update the RPTP to explicitly include offline mass rapid transit, including passenger ropeways (if deemed necessary)".

8. Central Lakes sub-regional PT investment case (ORC Council, 26 August 2026) [QTS-151 pp.126–131]

Preferred option

• A two-route bus network running four return trips a day, seven days a week:

- Alexandra – Clyde – Cromwell; - Wānaka – Luggate – Pisa Moorings – Cromwell – Frankton – Queenstown.

• Indicative operating cost is about $2.928m a year, plus $100,000 to implement. The base benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is about 1.6 (range 0.6–5.1).

Funding approach

• To be considered for the draft LTP 2027–37, with a targeted rate for the 49% local share.
• NZTA co-funding (51%) would be sought through the 2027–30 NLTP.
• An introductory service is "achievable… in early 2028" if funding is secured.

What's not published

Data not published by ORC:

• 2018/19 activity actuals for Public Transport – Wakatipu. Only bus fares for that year were found: $3,519,571 [QTS-180 p.33].
• The 2023/24 and 2025/26 split by funding source. Those years are published as totals, or as a variance, not as a full split.
• 2024/25 revenue and expenditure totals. The August 2025 agenda refers to activity-report attachments that are not in the agenda PDF [QTS-186]. The annual report has the reserve note only [QTS-152].
• A Queenstown National Land Transport Fund figure. ORC reports this column as "Grants" or "Subsidies and grants". That is ORC's own term. The reports do not label it as the National Land Transport Fund, and no separate Queenstown figure was found.
• Crown Climate Emergency Response Fund. No Wakatipu-specific amount was found. Half-price fares and Community Connect are described inside grants [QTS-183 p.42; QTS-185 p.19].
• The QLDC contribution. No ORC line was found. A 2024 news report quoted a $700,000 contribution to the bus subsidy [QTS-196].
• The ferry contract term and value. Council considered the award in public-excluded session on 23 July 2025 [QTS-189], so the term and value are not public. Services under Watersports Ltd started on 4 July 2025 [QTS-192].

Next steps as stated by ORC

1. LTP 2027–37: approve the final LTP by June 2027. NZTA co-funding is confirmed when the NLTP 2027–30 is released in August 2027 [QTS-151 pp.147, 213]. The RLTP 2027–37 is due to NZTA by the end of June 2027 [QTS-115].
2. QPTBC Stage 2 service improvements to be bid for in the 2027–30 NLTP, including gradual electrification [QTS-149 p.50].
3. Re-tender Units 6 and 7 (procurement preparation from late 2027, RFP in the first half of 2028), with new contracts starting November 2029 [QTS-151 p.213].
4. Depot: leave depot and charging provision to the market [QTS-157].
5. Central Lakes sub-regional trial: consider it in the draft LTP 2027–37 and the 2027–30 RLTP/NLTP bid, with possible launch in early 2028 [QTS-151 pp.129–131].
6. Regional Deal: update the RPTP to include offline mass rapid transit, including ropeways "if deemed necessary" [QTS-139 pp.24–26].
7. Ferry: "Further potential service level increases are currently under discussion with the operator" [QTS-151 p.263].