Christchurch Deputy Mayor Victoria Henstock is not convinced Labour’s proposed public transport fare cap is the best use of public money, and would rather see the funding go into better services.

Labour wants to cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, and $10 across the rest of the country, if it wins this year’s election.

“I recognise that affordability really is an issue for many people, so I think for some of our residents that would land reasonably well,” Henstock said.

She said the council did not run the buses or set the fares and routes. “Ask me in a couple of years, we might have a different answer on that,” she said.

Henstock, an occasional bus user on the number eight and number one routes, said the main routes were better served than other parts of the city.

“I think the money would probably be better spent on increasing frequency, working on reliability, extending the network coverage,” she said.

Public transport in Christchurch is already heavily subsidised, with the Taxpayers’ Union putting the average subsidy at $17.65 a boarding. Henstock said she was aware of the figure.

“Every little bit counts when you’re managing your family budget,” she said, when asked whether cheaper fares would make a meaningful difference for households facing cost of living pressures.

“There is some merit in it, but in terms of the question, is it the best investment for our money and the best use of our money, I’m not convinced about that,” she said.

On the Super Round, an economic impact report has valued visitor spending from the Super Rugby Pacific weekend at $13.1 million. The report does not say how much public money was spent to secure and stage the event.

Henstock said council money had gone into an incentive to attract the event, which she said was how host cities bid for major events.

“We’re in the middle of negotiating for further rounds of Super Rugby so we can’t disclose that information, it’s commercially sensitive,” she said.

“If we show our hand and disclose that information, regardless of how much people want to know what it is, we compromise our ability to negotiate,” she said.

Henstock said the more relevant question was whether the city wanted Super Rugby to return, which she believed it overwhelmingly did.

Asked whether economic impact reports should face tougher standards to prove they captured genuinely new spending, Henstock defended the agency’s approach, saying it used measures applied nationally and internationally.

“They’re damned if they do and they’re damned if they don’t,” she said, adding the agency may have measured the figure conservatively.

She said the event was new to the city and the stadium, and had followed a Melbourne edition that had not worked particularly well.

Henstock said the new stadium had become a point of pride for the city.

“Everybody’s looking at us, everyone’s talking about us, locally, nationally, internationally, this is the place to be,” she said.

The council is also seeking residents’ feedback on local government reform, with a merger between Christchurch and a neighbouring council seen as likely.

Asked why the survey did not set out the specific structural changes councils were weighing, Henstock said the council had not yet settled on a proposal and wanted to keep the questions open.

She said the reform process was complex and constantly shifting, and the council was still gathering evidence to inform its position.

Henstock said the Minister’s direction was for the city to look at expanding its urban boundary, which meant working through arrangements with neighbouring Waimakariri and Selwyn districts.

“Improve that regional capability but at the same time protect the local voice,” she said.

She said reform had been discussed for years and central government had finally pushed councils to act, giving them 90 days to respond, with about 40 remaining. The Minister expected Christchurch to put forward a preferred option, although Henstock said the council was not yet certain it would land on one.

“It’s a humdinger of a challenge, there’s so many moving parts,” she said.