Kia ora Tony,

We acknowledge receipt of your official information request received by us
10 July 2025 for:

I am interested in the extent to which Otago public transport is
subsidised.

For each PTOM unit for ORC public transport services (bus, train and
ferry) and for the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022,23 & 2023/24,
can the ORC please provide:

1) The patronage data for the unit by month

2) The fare Revenue for the unit by month

3) The data that shows the extent to which the unit is subsidised by month

4) The Commerciality Ratio for the unit by month

For any information that cannot be provided monthly, then the information
provided annually is requested.

If this information is held in electronic form, it is preferred that the
information is provided in its complete and original format.

We apologise for the delay in acknowledging your Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) request and actioning it. We
acknowledge that we are outside of the statutory 20 day timeframe. We will
endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event
no later than 3 October 2025. If we are unable to respond to your request
by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

Please note that your LGOIMA request was not referred to the legal team,
who manages LGOIMA requests at Council.

We are undertaking an internal review to determine the circumstances that
led to this oversight.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience or concern this may have
caused.

If you have any queries, please contact us by return email. If any
additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request,
please contact us so that these can be taken into account.

Kā mihi,

Janet & Kelly

Legal

[1][IMG] [email address]

[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
2. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
3. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
4. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Tony,

We refer to your official information request received by us 10 July 2025
for:

I am interested in the extent to which Otago public transport is
subsidised.

For each PTOM unit for ORC public transport services (bus, train and
ferry) and for the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022,23 & 2023/24,
can the ORC please provide:

1) The patronage data for the unit by month

2) The fare Revenue for the unit by month

3) The data that shows the extent to which the unit is subsidised by month

4) The Commerciality Ratio for the unit by month

For any information that cannot be provided monthly, then the information
provided annually is requested.

If this information is held in electronic form, it is preferred that the
information is provided in its complete and original format.

We are required under the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 to advise you of our decision on your request no later
than 20 working days after the day we received your request.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible to meet that time limit and we are
therefore writing to notify you of an extension of the time to make our
decision, to 17 October 2025.

This extension is necessary because to make a decision on your request, we
are currently still consulting and are therefore unable to provide the
information within the original time limit.

If you wish to discuss this with us, please contact us by return email.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

Kā mihi,

Kelly

Legal

[2][IMG] [email address]

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
3. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Tony,

 

Your official information request received by us 4 September 2025 for
Public Transport PTOM for the past 4 financial years has been granted. You
requested:

 

For each PTOM unit for ORC public transport services (bus, train, and
ferry) and for the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, & 2023/24,
can ORC please provide:

 1. The patronage data for the unit by month
 2. The fare revenue for the unit by month
 3. The data that shows the extent to which the unit is subsidised by
month
 4. The Commerciality Ratio for the unit by month

For any information that cannot be provided monthly, then the information
provided annually is requested. If this information is held in electronic
form, it is preferred that the information is provided in its complete and
original format.

 

The information is attached. Some information you have requested is
commercially sensitive and has been withheld in accordance with section
7(2)(b)(ii) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
1987.

Instead of monthly data we have provided the total patronage and revenue
across our public transport network for the requested financial years.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
us by return email.

 

Kā mihi,

Kelly

Legal

[2][IMG] [email address]

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
3. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Tony,

We acknowledge receipt of your email dated 14 October 2025.

We acknowledge that our release to you of 13 October 2025 contained an
error. Your information request was received by us on 10 July 2025, not
04 September 2025. We refer to our correspondence to you of 08 September
2025, where we apologised for the delay, acknowledged that your request
was not completed within the statutory timeframe imposed by LGOIMA and
identified the process errors which caused it.

We do not agree that s166(4)(a) of the Land Transport Management Act 2003
prevents the requested information from being withheld under the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 as that section and
subpart of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 are about the creation
of Regional Public Transport Plans, and the publishing requirements those
Regional Public Transport Plans have.

If you disagree with our decision, you are able to seek an investigation
and review of our decision by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make
a complaint is available at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602. 

Please let us know if we can do anything else to assist with this
response.

Kā mihi,

Finn

Legal

[2][IMG] [email address]

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
3. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Tony,

We have your email of 14 October.

On page 131 of ORC’s Regional Public Transport Plan (the Plan) we set out
the most recent annual private share ratio - [1]Regional Public Transport
Plan.

The Plan does not include information in unit tables as you have requested
however, this information was provided to you in our LGOIMA response
aggregated by units per financial year.

You have our decision on your LGOIMA request, and we have released the
information held to you.

LGOIMA SR.5793 has been completed.

You have been advised how to complain to the Ombudsman about that
decision.

Kā mihi,

Finn

Legal

[2][IMG] [email address]

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG]

Important notice

This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/d4rd2stz/p...
2. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
3. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf...
5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...

Kia ora Tony,

 

Your official information request for Public Transport Operating Model
(PTOM) subsidisation for the past 4 financial years has been reconsidered
following your complaint to the Ombudsman.

 

LGOIMA Request

In 2025 you made an official information request for each PTOM unit for
ORC public transport services (bus, train, and ferry) and for the
financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, & 2023/24:

 1. The patronage data for the unit by month
 2. The fare revenue for the unit by month
 3. The data that shows the extent to which the unit is subsidised by
month
 4. The Commerciality Ratio for the unit by month

For any information that cannot be provided monthly, then the information
provided annually is requested. If this information is held in electronic
form, it is preferred that the information is provided in its complete and
original format.

 

LGOIMA Decision

In October 2025 in response to that request we provided the total
patronage and revenue across our public transport network for the
requested financial years (instead of monthly).

 

LGOIMA Complaint

You complained to the Ombudsman that we:

 A. failed to disclose PTOM by unit by month; and
 B. were in breach of our obligations to publish information in accordance
with the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

 

New LGOIMA Decision

We have reconsidered your request, and propose to resolve you complaint by
issuing this as a new decision on your request:

 

A. Revised LGOIMA Release

We now release the information sought by month as requested – see attached
Excel Spreadsheet ‘Revised Response’ which includes an explanation of the
information supplied.

 

B. Land Transport Management Act 2003 Publishing

In response to your claim that we are not publishing information in
accordance with the Land Transport Management Act 2003 we provide publicly
available evidence that we do:

 

o Our Public Transport Team reports in public to Council quarterly.
Attached is a link our most recent Council Agenda 25 March 2026, refer
Agenda item 10.4 Q1-Q2 Public Transport Performance Report:
[1]https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/fseor1l2/2...
o Attached is the Public Transport Report extracted from that Council
Meeting being Agenda item 10.4 Q1-Q2 Public Transport Performance
Report (pages 128 -151).
o Reports for past years, captured in the LGOIMA report, are publicly
available on the Council Website.

 

o Council also publishes monthly public transport information to a
nationally consistent standard through the New Zealand Transport
Agency (NZTA), refer NZTA public transport monthly data update:
[2]https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/publi...
o The NZTA April 2026 data published in June 2026 is set out in four
tables (1) National, (2) National by mode, (3) Regional, and (4)
Regional by Mode and is attached.

 

o Council also publishes the Otago Regional Public Transport Plan
2025-2035, attached is an extract from that, being Part 9.9 Appendix
1: Cost recovery and measuring private share of operating cost of the
Otago Regional Public Transport Plan 2025-2035.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this new decision.

Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
us by return email.

 

Kā mihi

Janet

 

 

 
[4]ORC Janet Ashcroft 
[5]Follow ORC on Facebook[6]Follow ORC
on LinkedIn[7]Follow ORC on YouTube Kaiwawao ā-ture | Legal Counsel
Roia
Legal
[8]+64272800909
 
Important notice
This email contains information which is confidential and may be subject
to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not
peruse, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If
you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by return
email or telephone (03 474-0827) and delete this email. The Otago Regional
Council accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or to any
attachments following the original transmission from its offices. Thank
you.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/fseor1l2/2...
https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/fseor1l2/2...
2. https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/publi...
3. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
4. https://www.orc.govt.nz/
5. https://www.facebook.com/OtagoRegionalCo...
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/otago-r...
7. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77y56i...
8. file:///tmp/tel:+64272800909