Submission on the Land Transport Management (Regulation of Public Transport) Amendment Bill

28 April 2023

This bill replaced the previous legal framework for public transport, which mandated that local government had to contract out public transport services on a cost efficiency basis, with a new framework enabling more choice in how services were provided.

• We strongly support the Sustainable Public Transport Framework (SPTF) as a replacement for the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM). Environmental and social wellbeing should be considered alongside economic considerations.

• We also support greater flexibility being given to local authorities in deciding who should own and operate public transport infrastructure and services. In line with this greater flexibility, we support the steps to increase openness and transparency.

• Many potential users of public transport do not have the time, money, or expertise to engage in the political processes that govern public transport provision. Therefore, we would like the SPTF to explicitly include these communities as key stakeholders. Additionally, we believe that openness and transparency needs to be proactive, as active enquiry into council processes is inaccessible for many public transport users.