In common with much of the Western world, public transport patronage in New Zealand's major urban areas declined from 1947. The reason for this was due to increasing dominance of the private car and the freedom this symbolized for an increasingly affluent society, as much as it was due to the decline in investment and failure to respond to changing expectations on the part of the public transport operators. However, a combination of policy changes, revitalized confidence in the system, and improved levels of service dating from about 1995 has reversed the long decline, and public transport in NZ has enjoyed dramatic patronage growth. This paper looks at the major policy and legislative changes which revolutionized public transport in New Zealand, considers the industry's response to them, reviews the partnership approach which developed as a result between central, regional, local government and the public transport operators, and draws some conclusions on the effectiveness and outcomes of the policy changes from the public transport operators' perspective. In particular, the paper reviews the historical background and political environment leading to the initial deregulation and privatization of the country’s urban and some long-distance bus services. It then looks at the policy decisions and process for the 1989 legislation, the industry's response to the changes, and the outcomes of those responses. The paper then reviews more recent developments (1999 onwards) by central government to encourage patronage growth by direct payments to regional councils (the patronage funding regime) and the incorporation of public transport into the country's transport strategy. The paper then draws some conclusions based on the operators' experiences of deregulation and privatization.
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