The Government says a new rule change will make it easier for hospitality businesses to get people home safely and help reduce the risk of drink driving.
Some hospitality businesses including bars, RSAs and clubs, offer free courtesy van services to pick up patrons from their homes and drop them off safely to prevent drink-driving.
These services are strictly free of charge to comply with NZ transport licensing laws. If a hospitality business accepts financial contributions towards the running costs of their transport service, or charges patrons, it triggers passenger service requirements - meaning they are treated like a taxi service.
Regulation Minister David Seymour said the next steps in the implementation of the Ministry for Regulation's Hospitality Sector Review was "deleting more stupid rules and cutting more red tape".
"I heard from one business who were paying about $12,000 per month to offer their customers rides home. That was coming straight out of their pocket. Not being able to cover those costs in a meaningful way prevents more venues from offering this service," Seymour said.
The Review found that whether a business accepts financial contributions or not has zero effect on how safe the ride service is.
"It’s just a barrier to more hospitality businesses offering this service for their customers. That’s why the Government is accepting the Ministry for Regulation’s recommendation to scrap those rules.
“There are many places in New Zealand where traditional ride services are unavailable. If the local pub offers a ride service, people who shouldn’t be driving home have a better option.”
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said this was a "practical change" that would help reduce the risk of drink driving, particularly in rural communities.
“We want more hospitality businesses to have the means to offer them, so more Kiwis can benefit from them. That’s why we are making this change.
"These changes have been added the existing transport regulatory reform work programme, with the intention of being in force by mid-2027.
The Review also found the hospitality sector has experienced inconsistency in how excessive noise is dealt with by councils.
"The Government intends to improve standardisation of noise controls across the country under the new Planning system which will ensure greater consistency," Bishop said.
"In the meantime, guidance on managing excessive noise is available through the Quality Planning website administered by MCERT, supporting councils to take a more consistent approach to assessing and responding to noise complaints.
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