Agenda of Regional Transport Committee

Meeting of the Regional Transport Committee

Date: Friday 19 June 2020

Time: 10.00am

Venue:

Council Chamber

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

159 Dalton Street

NAPIER

Agenda

Item Title Page

1. Welcome/Notices/Apologies

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

3. Short Term Replacements for the 19 June 2020 Regional Transport Committee Meeting 3

4. Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on 27 March 2020

5. Follow-ups from Previous Regional Transport Committee Meetings 5

6. Call for Minor Items Not on the Agenda 9

Decision Items

7. Update on the Regional Transport Study and Regional Land Transport Plan 11

Information or Performance Monitoring

8. Debrief on 20 April 2020 Regional Transport Workshop 27

9. Transport Manager's Report 117

10. NZTA Central Region - Regional Relationships Director's Report

11. RoadSafe Hawke's Bay June 2020 Update 123

12. June 2020 Public Transport Update 131

13. Verbal Updates by Advisory Representatives

14. Discussion of Minor Matters Not on the Agenda 137

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

SUBJECT: Short Term Replacements for the 19 June 2020 Regional Transport Committee Meeting

Reason for Report

1. Council has made allowance in the Terms of Reference for the Committee for the short term replacement of alternates to be appointed to the Committee where the usual member/s cannot attend.

Committee Membership

Committee Members (Voting)
Cr Martin Williams	Member and Chairman	HBRC
Cr Charles Lambert	Member and Deputy Chairman	HBRC
Cr Keith Price Alternate Mayor Kirsten Wise	Member	NCC
Mayor Alex Walker Alternate Cr Kate Taylor	Member	CHBDC
Mayor Craig Little Alternate Cr Jeremy Harker	Member	WDC
Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst Alternate Cr Tania Kerr	Member	HDC
Ms Emma Speight Alternate Mr Oliver Postings	Member	NZ Transport Agency
Advisory Members (Non-voting)
Api Robin	Cultural Interests and Environment	HBRC Māori Committee
Paul Michaelsen	Private motorists, Public Transport users, Walking and Cycling	Automobile Association
Matt Broderick	NZ Police	NZ Police
Andrew Palairet	Port and Coastal Shipping	Port of Napier Limited
Ian Emmerson	Road Transport industry	Road Transport Association
Position Vacant	Rail	KiwiRail
Position Vacant	Health	HB District Health Board
Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
Anne Redgrave	Transport Manager	HBRC
Megan Welsby	Sustainable Transport Officer	HBRC
Robin Malley	Transportation Team Leader	NCC
Shawn McKinley	Roading Manager	CHBDC
Michael Hardie	Transport Asset Manager	WDC
Mark Clews	Strategic Planning Manager	HDC
Jag Pannu	Transportation Manager	HDC
Paul Murphy	Senior Investment Adviser	NZ Transport Agency
Simon Barnett	Principal Transport Planner	NZ Transport Agency
Wayne Wallace	Principal Investment Adviser	NZ Transport Agency

Recommendation

That __________________________ be appointed as member/s of the Regional Transport Committee of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for the meeting of Friday, 19 June 2020 as short term replacement(s) on the Committee for _______________________.

Authored by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

Subject: Update on the Regional Transport Study and Regional Land Transport Plan

Reason for Report

1. This item:

1.1. provides the Committee with an update on progress with the Hawke’s Bay Transport Study and the development of the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) for 2021, and

1.2. seeks the Committee’s approval of the proposed initial sections of the draft RLTP.

Background

2. The RLTP is a statutory document that must be prepared every six years, as required by the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA).

3. The RLTP comprises two key parts:

3.1. The strategic policy section has a minimum ten-year outlook and includes land transport objectives, policies and measures required by the LTMA

3.2. The regional transport programme, which sets out a programme of proposed land transport activities over a six-year period, and a ten-year financial forecast.

4. The next RLTP must be prepared by the RTC and adopted by the Regional Council by April 2021. This timeline enables the NZ Transport Agency to then release the National Land Transport Programme by end June 2021, setting out the funded transport activities for the next three years.

5. It is possible that the timeframe for preparation of the RLTP will be extended, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent delays to the release of the Government Policy Statement. There is provision within the legislation for the adoption of RLTPs as late as 30 June and this provision has been utilised in the past. However, we have not received any indication yet that this is likely.

Hawke’s Bay Transport Study – Transport Model Update, Network Operating Framework, Programme Business Case

6. The Hawke’s Bay Transport Study will help to guide the future direction for transport in the region, identifying issues and opportunities and ways to address these. There are three separate components to the study.

7. The Network Operating Framework (NOF) is the second stage of the study, and is being prepared by GHD Ltd, under contract to Waka Kotahi, the NZ Transport Agency.

8. The purpose of the NOF is to link strategic objectives with how the transport network will be managed and improved in the future. The framework will set out the agreed function of key routes and determine the level of service gap that exists between the current state and desired future function. Further information on progress with the NOF is to be found in Waka Kotahi’s report to this meeting.

9. The Programme Business Case (PBC) is the third stage of the study, which will result in a business case for a programme of activities needed over the short, medium and long-term to ensure that all sections of the network can operate according to the NOF and its objectives. The PBC is being developed by Stantec Ltd, under contract to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

10. Work is well underway on the development of the strategic case which forms part of the PBC. This comprises two parts:

10.1. Identification of the problem or opportunity: This phase identifies the key problems or opportunities faced by our transport system and the benefits of addressing these

10.2. The strategic context: This demonstrates the alignment of the proposed investment with the problem owner’s priorities, regional and national priorities, other programmes and strategies, and other organisations’ priorities (if relevant).

11. An initial workshop was held with RTC members and technical officers on 29 May to commence the preparation of the strategic case. Each organisation was asked to present on its 30-year vision, issues that might prevent the achievement of this vision and steps that could be taken to address these. Key issues were prioritised in urban and rural breakout groups.

12. A presentation from Stantec set out the context for these discussions, outlining a range of demographic and transport trends in the region. This information is largely replicated in the initial sections of the draft RLTP, discussed elsewhere in this report.

13. Stantec has used the information gathered through the workshop to draft key problem statements for the strategic case, identify supporting evidence and the benefits of addressing the issues (the investment logic map (ILM)). A working draft of this ILM is attached for information only. (Attachment 1).

14. Following one-on-one discussions with the investment partners, a further workshop will be held next week with a wider group of stakeholders to review the draft ILM. The workshop will also identify a long list of activities or interventions to address the problems or opportunities.

Setting the Scene for the Regional Land Transport Plan

15. Attachment 2 sets out draft initial sections of the Regional Land Transport Plan. The purpose of these sections is to provide the context within which the Plan is developed. They describe the current situation and trends in the region across a range of demographic, transport and economic indicators. However, they are not intended to identify the issues to be addressed through the RLTP nor to discuss the future direction for the transport system through a vision and objectives. These are to be derived through the development of the strategic case which is part of the PBC work, as described above.

16. Feedback presented at the March meeting has been incorporated into these sections and some reorganisation and amplification has been undertaken.

Significance Policy

17. The Land Transport Management Act requires RLTPs to have a significance policy.

18. Under the LTMA s 106 (2) each regional transport committee must adopt a policy that determines significance in respect of:

18.1. Variations made to regional land transport plans under section 18D

18.2. The activities that are included in the regional land transport plan under section 16.

19. Consultation is not required under s 18D (5)(a) for variations that are not significant.

20. The Transport Sector Interest Group (TSIG) has developed a number of common documents and templates to facilitate the development of RLTPs. The group has drafted a suggested significance policy that could be adopted by most RTCs. Having a consistent approach would facilitate the variations process, particularly for Waka Kotahi, which operates across all regions.

21. The policy is not yet finalised and must undergo legal review but it is likely that most of the regional councils will adopt this common approach.

22. The draft policy removes a monetary limit as a determinant of significance, but focuses more on the effect that a change to the RLTP may have on the community, the integrity and direction of the RLTP, any impact on the purpose of the Land Transport Management Act, the objectives of the Government Policy Statement or similar.

23. The policy will be brought to the committee for discussion when complete.

Prioritisation Process

24. The TSIG is also developing a suggested common prioritisation process for activities included in RLTPs.

25. The LTMA requires regional transport committees to prioritise significant activities for which it is seeking funding. However, the legislation does not set out how this prioritisation should be undertaken and in the past, a wide variety of methods has been used.

26. Regional prioritisation is intended to help NZTA to determine which projects are the highest priority for funding through the National Land Transport Fund; it uses its own assessment framework to assist with this. However, the Agency’s job is not made any easier by the wide variety of regional prioritisation methods used, hence the suggestion that a common approach be taken.

27. The suggested common prioritisation framework will be brought to the committee for discussion when complete.

Next Steps

28. The strategic case section of the Programme Business Case and the Network Operating Framework will be completed by early July. This will enable most of the rest of the strategic front-end of the RLTP to be drafted for consideration by the RTC at its next meeting.

29. Work will continue on the testing, assessing and refining of options for inclusion in the Programme Business Case.

Strategic Fit

30. The Regional Land Transport Plan contributes to the HBRC’s Strategic Plan 2017-21 priority area of Sustainable Services and Infrastructure.

Significance and Engagement Policy Assessment

31. This decision is not significant in terms of Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.

32. Consultation and engagement with key stakeholders will take place through the HB Transport Study processes. A public consultation process on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan will be undertaken from December 2020.

Climate Change Considerations

33. The transport system’s contribution to climate change and mitigation of the effect on transport networks will be a major consideration in the development of the Regional Land Transport Plan.

Financial and Resource Implications

34. The cost of the Hawke’s Bay Transport Study and Regional Land Transport Plan has been included in long term and annual plan budgets.

Decision Making Process

35. Council and its committees are required to make every decision in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements in relation to this item and have concluded:

35.1. The decision does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset

35.2. The use of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation, and public consultation process on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan will be undertaken from December 2020

35.3. The decision is not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy

35.4. The persons affected by this decision are all persons interested in the management and development of transport systems in Hawke’s Bay.

35.5. The decision is not inconsistent with an existing policy or plan

35.6. Given the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided, and also the persons likely to be affected by, or have an interest in the decisions made, Council can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting directly with the community or others having an interest in the decision.

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and considers the “Update on the Regional Transport Study and Regional Land Transport Plan” staff report.

2. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that the Committee can exercise its discretion and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community or persons likely to have an interest in the decision.

3. Approves the initial sections of the draft Regional Land Transport Plan outlining the regional context for the plan, incorporating amendments agreed at the 19 June 2020 Regional Transport Committee meeting.

Authored by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

⇩1	Draft ILM
⇩2	Strategic Context

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

Subject: Debrief on 20 April 2020 Regional Transport Workshop

Reason for Report

1. To discuss feedback on a recent transport workshop

Background

2. A transport workshop was held by Zoom on April 20. RTC members, HBRC councillors and some other stakeholders were invited.

3. The purpose of the workshop was to:

3.1. Discuss high level strategy and long-term outcomes for the NZ transport system

3.2. Understand new and emerging technologies for transport and policy around their implementation

3.3. Discuss how these might be applied in the Hawke’s Bay context to reduce reliance on single-occupancy private vehicles.

4. The workshop was held in response to a suggestion from Cr Martin Williams, Regional Transport Committee Chairperson, for a “blue skies” discussion on transport solutions for the region, with an emphasis on innovation, climate change, more diverse and demand led options for public transport.

Presentations

5. The Committee heard presentations from

5.1. Richard Cross, Manager Strategic Policy and Innovation, Ministry of Transport – Where is NZ’s transport system headed? Long-term outcomes, new and emerging technologies and policy frameworks for managing these in NZ

5.2. Darren Davis, Stantec – Transport network optimization – a customer focused approach. NZ experience and case studies

5.3. Jeremy Dickson, ECan – The Timaru On-Demand Bus trial.

6. The presentations were sent out to attendees after the meeting and are attached.

Discussion

7. We are interested to hear feedback on the presentations and initiate discussion on

7.1. the Committee’s views on the techniques and innovations presented

7.2. what is relevant for Hawke’s Bay in the short, medium and long-term

7.3. how this might be implemented.

Next Steps

8. The HB Transport Study Programme Business Case is under preparation and provides an ideal opportunity for some of the ideas to be included for consideration in the long list of interventions, to be discussed at next week’s workshop.

Decision Making Process

9. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee receives the “Debrief on 21 April 2020 Regional Transport Workshop” report.

Authored by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

⇩1	Richard Cross - "Transport strategy and the role of new technologies"
⇩2	Darren Davis - "Future of Transport" presentation
⇩3	Jeremy Dixon - "MyWay" presentation

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

Subject: Transport Manager's Report

Reason for Report

1. To update the Committee on a range of transport issues.

Submission to the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport

2. A submission on the Draft Government Policy Statement was prepared, circulated to TAG and the Committee for comment and submitted to the Ministry of Transport in early May.

3. The final submission is attached.

4. Other than an acknowledgement of receipt, we have had no feedback yet. We have been informed that the release of the final GPS will be delayed to take into account the effects of Covid-19 on funding sources and allocations to accelerated transport projects.

Covid-19 Effects on Transport

5. The pandemic and lockdown processes have had a significant effect on transport across the country. Treasury reports showed a drop of between 60 and 80% in traffic flows during April in the main centres, when compared with the same period last year (https://treasury.govt.nz/system/files/2020-04/covid-19-econ-dashboard-24apr2020.pdf).

6. This is consistent in Hawke’s Bay; Napier City reports counts of around 20% of usual traffic volumes during level 4.

7. By end of May (Level 2), traffic counts had increased to 80% of last year’s level in Auckland, 83% in Wellington, 90% in Christchurch. https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-services-update/weekly-traffic-count-information/.

8. Bus numbers sat at around 5% of usual patronage during Level 4. By Level 2, buses were carrying 40% of regular patronage, but social distancing requirements meant their capacity was more than halved, requiring additional capacity on some peak services.

9. Although cycle counts on roads have not yet been completed, anecdotally councils report that cycling numbers were significantly higher during level 4, as residents got out and about to exercise. Cyclists were more common on arterial routes and state highways, where they are usually seldom seen. This was very likely due to reduced safety concerns due to less traffic.

10. Although a number of the offroad cycle trails across HB were closed during Level 4, numbers were significantly higher on Marine Parade and other sections that were open.

11. Funding for transport has been significantly affected by the pandemic and lower revenues into the National Land Transport Fund. This means that The Government Policy Statement will need to be revised to take account of this, and the Transport Agency Investment Proposal (the proposed state highways programme for the next three years) will now not be released until August.

12. NZTA commissioned a continuous research monitor into the transport impacts of Covid-19. The study offers insights into how people respond in their transport choices, their perceptions and attitudes to different modes of transport and how they change under the different COVID-19 Alert Levels. Weekly updates are provided here.

Codvid-19 Transport Recovery Projects

13. A number of accelerated transport projects have been included in the Hawke’s Bay recovery package recently announced by government.

14. These include:

14.1. Napier - Area traffic calming measures (Pirimai and Douglas McLean Ave) and five cycleways

14.2. Hastings – safety project on State Highway 2 between Ruahapia and Kenilworth Roads, iWay walking and cycling network, footpath improvements

14.3. Wairoa – Patangata Bridge replacement, realignment of Nuhaka River Road, repair of Rangatahi Dropout, Mahia

14.4. Central Hawke’s Bay – vegetation control on roadsides (also some parks and reserves).

Decision Making Process

15. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee receives the “Transport Manager’s” report.

Authored by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

⇩1

HB Regional Transport Committee Submission on Draft Government Policy Statement 2021

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

Subject: RoadSafe Hawke's Bay June 2020 Update

Reason for Report

1. This regular report provides the Committee with an update on road safety statistics in the region and a snapshot of road safety activities undertaken by Roadsafe Hawke’s Bay.

Background

2. There are a number of documents that provide the direction for the road safety activities, including:

2.1. The Government Policy Statement for Land Transport (GPS)

2.2. “Road to Zero “– the NZ road safety strategy 2020.

3. The focus for road safety in New Zealand is the Safe System approach. This recognises that all elements of the road system need to be strengthened and that we need safe roads and roadsides, safe vehicles, safe road use and safe speeds. This approach recognises that all parts of the system have an important role in reducing our crash rates; if people make mistakes, then our roads, roadsides and vehicles should, as much as possible, protect them and other road users from harm.

Hawke’s Bay Statistics

4. Road deaths by district for the 2020 calendar year to date.

Territorial Authority	Road deaths 1 Jan to 11 June 2020
Wairoa	0
Hastings	3
Napier	5
Central Hawke’s Bay	0
TOTAL	8

5. There were 7 deaths on Hawke’s Bay roads for the same period in 2019, and the highest number of fatalities for this period was in 2017, when 10 people had already died on Hawke’s Bay roads by this time.

6. Nationally, the road toll sits at 126 compared with 174 in 2019 and 169 in 2018. The lower road toll this year has been attributed to the pandemic lockdown.

Crash factors – trends over time

7. The following graphs set out trends over time for a range of crash factors in Hawke’s Bay. These have not been updated since the March RTC meeting, as data for the March 2020 quarter has not yet been posted online.

8. There has been some improvement in trends since 2008 for several crash issues, although recent increases could start to reverse this. Other factors, notably speed and motorcycle crashes, are worsening.

RoadSafe Hawke’s Bay Recent Activities

9. Edinburgh University Collaboration: Roadsafe HB has been contacted by Edinburgh University (Scotland) seeking permission to use two of our projects for a post graduate degree in health promotion, which will demonstrate to the students the amount of work that goes into a health promotion opportunity. These students could be doctors, nurses, sport science students etc. We will provide education material on project management, strategic alignment and evaluation. The two projects to be used are the Hawkes Bay Youth Road Safety Expo and the Road Safety Resource Graphic Design Project conducted at the regional prison. We work with the inmates in specialist rehabilitation units at the prison, designing road safety resources such as billboards, flyers, social media etc. (We have previously won a national award for this work for using art as a form of rehabilitation).

10. Hawkes Bay Youth Road Safety Expo: This would have been the 10 year anniversary for the Expo, but unfortunately due to the lockdown we were not able to proceed. We intend to do some media coverage about the anniversary.

11. We have decided to rebrand the Expo, as it encompasses a wider scope than alcohol issues. The expo will now be called Hawke’s Bay Youth Road Safety Expo. The development of new resources and the rebranding is currently underway and will be ready for next year’s event. One of the new resources is a purpose built virtual reality experience, which will be used in the driving simulator we already own.

12. Other additions include warrant and registration information, tyres and their importance, ANCAP safety ratings, a question and answer activity using touch screens linked to information portals. We want the students to see that there is a lot more to road safety and their responsibilities as drivers than just the road code.

13. The Expo is being held over the week of 10 to 14 May 2021.

14. SH5 Joint Project: NZ Police/NZTA/Taupo District Council. We are working with NZTA, Hawke’s Bay Police and Taupo District Council to compile a comprehensive road safety programme across SH5. This will be multi-faceted with a number of elements contained in the campaign: Bill board series specifically designed for this section of network road safety issues / fatigue stops / social media campaign / fatigue information placed on information boards at each of the main rest stops on the route, as well as speed enforcement. Taupo District Council is planning similar activities at its end. We will both contribute resources to this project.

15. Queen’s Birthday Weekend: We introduced a new education opportunity over Queen’s Birthday, this consisted of patrolling with a police officer who was tasked with speed detection over Queen’s Birthday Weekend. This was on SH2 and SH5. We held discussions with drivers and passengers and presented information about the potential consequences of speed. This was well received and we will continue to use this activity in the future as part of our programme.

16. Project Plans: We are working on closing off the 2019-2020 work plans and reporting. We are also drafting the 2020-2021 work plans, these will be sent to the Councils for consideration and responses in the first week July. It is important that feedback is provided to us so we can factor in specific projects that you would like in your areas.

17. Restraints. Impairment. Distraction. Speed: We are working on a social media campaign that focusses on these key areas. This will run as a weekly focus campaign on social media platforms

18. Activities in Wairoa

18.1. Joint project with police - Driver licence support project at Wairoa College under development

18.2. Regular scheduled check points with local traffic teams and IPT police team travelling through to Gisborne

18.3. Supported police check points work over Queen’s Birthday weekend

18.4. Joint child restraint project with police and Ngati Kahungunu executive Tamariki in the car” safety on rural roads at Mohaka and Nuhaka schools postponed due to Covid-19, to be rescheduled

18.5. Tiaho Primary school – with police and WDC, safety around schools

18.6. Joint project with WDC billboards on local rural roads underway, locations being identified

18.7. Joint project with Adventure Wairoa. Information and competition at clubrooms around safe driving on rural roads, speed

18.8. Development of new resources for HB Youth Road Safety Expo

18.9. Developing monthly advertorial campaign around key road safety issues

19. Activities in Central Hawkes Bay

19.1. Regular scheduled check points with local traffic teams focusing on all high risk issues

19.2. Continued support with child restraint education to Te Kohanga Reo, kindergartens and early childhood centres including local whanau visits

19.3. Billboard project – road safety messaging on local rural roads, 2 sets of 4

19.4. Safer Communities group attendance

19.5. Working with Police staff to carry out support education at driver licensing programme run in CHB

19.6. Developing monthly advertorial campaign around key road safety issues

19.7. Developing joint project with local traffic police on rural roads

19.8. Trying to reinvigorate CHB College SADD students group

19.9. Development of new resources for HB Youth Road Safety Expo

19.10. Supported police checkpoint work over Queen’s Birthday weekend.

Decision Making Process

20. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “RoadSafe Hawke's Bay June 2020 Update” staff report.

Authored by:

Linda Anderson

Regional Manager RoadSafe Hawke's Bay

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 19 June 2020

Subject: June 2020 Public Transport Update

Reason for Report

1. To provide the Committee with an update on Council’s public transport operation.

Background

2. The responsibility for contracting public transport services is assigned to regional councils under the Land Transport Management Act 2003. Under Section 35, the council must consider the needs of the “transport disadvantaged” when preparing its Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP), which sets out the services that the council will provide.

3. “Transport disadvantaged” means people who the regional council has reasonable grounds to believe are the least able to travel to basic community activities and services (for example work, education, healthcare, welfare and shopping). As part of the responsibility to the transport disadvantaged, councils also provide Total Mobility services where suitable transport operators exist to deliver the service.

Current Bus Network

4. The goBay bus services network, which is delivered by Go Bus Transport Ltd, consists of:

4.1 Route 10 – Napier to Hastings/Hastings to Napier (via HB Hospital) express service: 5 trips daily Monday to Friday

4.2 Route 11 – Havelock North to Napier/Napier to Havelock North (via Clive and Hastings) express service: 8 trips daily Monday to Friday

4.3 Route 12 – Napier to Hastings/Hastings to Napier, (via EIT and HB Hospital): 60 trips daily Monday to Friday, 11 trips on Saturdays and 5 trips on Sundays

4.4 Route 13 – Napier-Tamatea-Taradale-Napier: 11 trips daily Monday to Friday, 6 on Saturdays

4.5 Route 14 – Napier-Maraenui-Onekawa-Napier: 14 trips daily Monday to Friday, 4 on Saturdays

4.6 Route 15 – Napier-Ahuriri-Westshore-Bayview-Westshore-Ahuriri-Napier: 11 trips daily Monday to Friday, 4 trips on Saturdays

4.7 Route 16A – Hastings-Camberley-Raureka-Hastings: 11 trips daily Monday to Friday

4.8 Route 16B – Hastings-Mahora-Hastings: 6 trips daily Monday to Friday

4.9 Route 17 – Hastings-Parkvale-Akina-Hastings: 6 trips daily Monday to Friday

4.10 Route 20 – Hastings-Flaxmere-Hastings (via HB Hospital): 22 trips daily Monday to Friday, 6 trips on Saturdays and 3 trips on Sundays

4.11 Route 21 – Hastings-Havelock North-Hastings: 15 trips daily Monday to Friday, 4 trips on Saturdays and 3 trips on Sundays

The total number of public transport trips provided per week is 907.

New Bus Ticketing System

5. A project to implement a new bus ticketing and smartcard system for nine regional

councils across New Zealand has been underway for several years. The provider is INIT, a company based in Germany but which has built such systems all over the world.

6. The system will allow all participating regional councils to continue with their own timetables and fares structures but the bus card will be able to be used in all nine regions. A clearing-house system will allocate fares to the correct region.

7. Passengers will be able to top up their cards with money on-line (currently this is only possible with cash on the bus), which will speed up bus loading times. However, cards can still be topped up with cash on the bus or at selected retail outlets by cash or EFTPOS.

8. Entry to the bus is via a tag-on system (the card is passed over an electronic reader) and passengers will be required to tag off when they leave the bus also. This will provide councils with detailed information (not currently available) about where people are getting on and off the bus and how far they travel.

9. After a number of delays, the system will be implemented in August 2020, subject to final confirmation of several aspects. Lower patronage and a fare-free period due to Covid-19 has provided an opportunity for an accelerated implementation process. HBRC has approved an extended fare-free period until the system is implemented, subject to NZTA support. Once the system goes live, a simplified flat fare system will be in operation for a period of 3-4 months.

Effects of Covid-19

10. The effects of Covid-19 on the goBay bus network have been widely felt, with passenger numbers plummeting during the lockdown. At level 4 only essential workers and people accessing essential services (supermarkets, healthcare and pharmacies) were permitted to travel. In level 3 people returning to work were also able to travel and in level 2, with more workplaces and schools re-opening patronage began to increase.

11. In March patronage saw a decline of 69%, in April that decline grew to 95% and in May the decline was 68%. These numbers are consistent with public transport across New Zealand.

12. At level 4 the Saturday timetable was in operation, plus Routes 10, 11, 16A, 16B and 17. At level 3, we reintroduced the full timetable.

13. At levels 4 and 3 the two metre social distancing requirement onboard the buses saw available capacity reduced to approximately 30%. Capacity increased slightly during level 2 due to the reduction in social distancing from two metres to one metre, but some additional services were required when schools went back.

14. Since level 4, travel on the goBay network has been ‘fare free’, this was introduced in order to maintain distance and interaction between bus drivers and passengers. It also eliminated the need for drivers to handle cash.

15. At level 2 services are back to normal, with no social distancing and front door entry, however, travel is still fare-free and passengers are encouraged to record their trips for contact tracing purposes.

16. At level 4 the bus cleaning regime was increased to daily, this includes full sanitization and fogging of the vehicles. PPE was also made available to drivers on request. The cost of the increased cleaning and PPE will be covered by NZTA (Waka Kotahi). Daily cleaning is continuing at level 1.

17. The public were kept up to date of changes via onboard posters, the goBay website, Facebook page, and radio ads.

18. Our service provider Go Bus Transport Ltd and their drivers were extremely accommodating, helpful and agile in assisting us to maintain the public transport network during these challenging times. There were some minor breaches of the rules and some anti-social behaviour, with drivers calling the Police 105 line for assistance a number of times.

Public Transport Trips

19. Diagram 1 shows public transport trips made from July to May 2012-20.

Diagram 1

Bus Service Costs

20. Diagram 2 shows the year to date net cost (after fares and excluding GST) of operating the goBay bus service from July to April 2012-20.

Diagram 2: 51% of this cost is met by the New Zealand Transport Agency. During the Covid-19 emergency, lost fare revenue has also been met by the Agency.

21. Recent cost increases are largely due to inflationary pressure (as our bus contract is adjusted by an NZTA index reflecting fuel, labour and infrastructure prices) lower fare revenue due to lower patronage, and the cost of paid breaks added to the driver hours as required by the Employment Relations Amendment Act.

22. Prior to Covid-19, patronage on the goBay network between 2014-19 saw a decline of approximately 154,000, this could be attributed to a range of factors including:

22.1 Growth in car ownership per capita and low unemployment in Hawke’s Bay

22.2 Cost of fares compared with the cost of driving

22.3 Convenience, ease, availability and low cost of parking

22.4 The spatial layout of the Heretaunga Plains with dispersed population centres

22.5 Limited service hours at present

22.6 Geographical coverage of the bus service

22.7 Persistent late running on Route 12 services between the two cities, mainly due to traffic congestion (however, as of December 2019 changes were made to the route, which are contributing to keeping services running on time).

Total Mobility

23. The Total Mobility Scheme provides subsidised taxi travel for Hawke’s Bay residents who are unable to use public transport due to a significant, permanent impairment. People assessed for and registered to the scheme receive taxi vouchers entitling them to a 50% fare discount (some restrictions apply). The scheme is administered by the regional council and funded by both the Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

24. Since Level 4 of the Covid-19 restrictions, Total Mobility clients have received extra travel discounts (ensuring equity with public transport passengers) making a payment only if the fare is over $30 for general travel, or $50 for trips to HB Hospital or the airport. The extra costs of the discounts is covered by NZTA (Waka Kotahi).

25. The collation of trips made during the Covid-19 emergency has been delayed, but usage of the scheme was very low. Diagram 3 shows the number of Total Mobility trips made from July- March 2012-20.

Diagram 3

26. Diagram 4 shows the cost of the Total Mobility Scheme (excluding GST) from July-March 2012-20.

Diagram 4 (60% of this cost is met by the New Zealand Transport Agency).

Decision Making Process

27. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “June 2020 Public Transport Update” report.

Authored by:

Megan Welsby

Sustainable Transport Coordinator

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

There are no attachments for this report.

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