Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins and Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult first raised the issue in May with a joint letter to the ORC calling for a discussion on the governance of public transport.
The regional council is responsible for public transport, and the city and district councils are responsible for maintaining the roads, a divide they believe is hindering necessary change.
The Dunedin and Queenstown Lakes councils wanted public transport transferred to territorial authorities, but were prepared to compromise and consider other options, the joint statement said.
A lack of response drew criticisms from the Mr Hawkins and Mr Boult, who pushed for discussion on the issue before October’s local body elections.
"The closer we get to local body elections, the more it looks like this has been put on the never-never," Mr Hawkins said.
"How long does it take to organise a meeting?"
ORC chairman Andrew Noone said yesterday the ORC was "committed to having a conversation" with the mayors before the end of the triennium.
However, he did not respond to questioning about the possibility of a compromise on the issue.
The original letter acknowledged the ORC’s service improvements such as the introduction of the Bee Card and flat fares, but presented rising fuel prices and climate change as catalysts for the debate.
It highlighted the importance of public transport in significantly reducing transport emissions.
Areas experiencing a population boom needed public transport services in place ahead of development to curtail car dependency .
"The time is right to consider how full integration would be best achieved," they said.
Mr Boult said "zero progress" had been made on the issue.
"Our locals are the ones that are crying out for a reliable, usable and environmentally friendly public transport system and that’s why we want to have a discussion about how that can be delivered, whether that’s in partnership with the ORC or by QLDC," he said.
