Auckland bus operators threaten investment strike

From a NZ Herald report:

Auckland's main bus company is upset at the level of controls over its business which the Government is offering regional councils through legislation tabled in Parliament yesterday. Transport Minister Annette King says the Public Transport Management Bill will provide tools to regional councils to improve bus and ferry services, and to give passengers, local and central government, and taxpayers better value for money. [...] In signalling the legislation in February, Ms King acknowledged it would not go as far as giving the authority the power to pocket all bus and ferry fares, and then to pay transport operators fees based on passenger numbers, in the way it now manages urban rail services. She heeded industry concerns in acknowledging that a similar service model for buses and ferries might lead to "some problems" through a potential withdrawal of investment by commercial operators.

Note that this threat of a capital strike passes without comment in the same press which gets a case of the vapours whenever workers even think of withdrawing their labour. Note also that the NZ Herald believes that encouraging unnecessary and inefficient competition between public transport modes is a good thing.