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Anne Redgrave gave an update on a number
of ideas for the mitigation of climate change through public transport.
Discussions traversed:
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Seek the Transport Committee’s feedback
on ideas to put forward to HBRC Council.
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HBRC recently declared a climate emergency and
concrete action against climate change in Hawke’s Bay is needed.
·
The Transport team held a workshop in June
2019 with HBRC councillors to outline the state of the public transport
system and to discuss ideas on the future of the public transport system.
·
Councillors were enthusiastic about the role
public transport could play in reducing carbon emissions.
·
The councillors have tasked the Transport team
to present some ideas for substantially increasing its uptake.
·
Broad proposals are presented today for
feedback by this committee.
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Ideas to improve bus patronage have been
discussed. Five proposals have been developed .
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Proposal 1: Extended hours of operation
and frequencies / Weekend service on all routes – will give potential
passengers more choice and encourages for growth in patronage.
·
Proposal 2: Maintain current service
levels / introduce some or all electric buses to the fleet – will
decrease carbon emission significantly (1,100 tonnes annually) if all
buses were electric.
·
Proposal 3: That all 2-zone trips
between 6-9am and 3-6pm be free of charge to all passengers with smartcards
only – ongoing growth in traffic on the expressway with most vehicles
during peak time. This will improve commuter use of buses between
Napier and Hastings and remove peak vehicles from the Expressway.
·
Proposal 4: Cheaper fares for all passengers
– All 2-zone trips to cost $2 irrespective of passenger type,
smartcards only / All 1-zone trips to cost $1, irrespectively of passenger
type, smartcard only. This proposal would provide a fare reduction for
all passengers and should significantly increase patronage on all
bus routes.
·
Proposal 5: Remove zonal fares –
All fares would be set at a 1-zone rate. This could encourage greater
bus commuting between cities.
·
An assessment of the four proposals tabled
below.
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Proposal 1
Increase service levels across the board
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Proposal 2
Maintain current service levels, introduce some or
all electric buses to the fleet
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Proposal 3
Free 2-zone peak services
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Proposal 4
Cheaper fares for all passengers, all the time
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Proposal 5
Remove zonal Fares
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Carbon
mitigation benefits
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?
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√√√√√
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√√
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√√√
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√
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Improving
access for the community
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√√
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−
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√
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√√√
|
√
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Reducing
peak-time
congestion
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√
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−
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√√√
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√√√
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√√
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Affordability
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?
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?
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√
|
√√
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√√√
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The Committee supported Proposal 4 in general,
and noted:
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The proposals cannot be considered in
isolation. The availability of free/cheap parking in both cities needed to be
considered, along with inter-changeability with other transport modes –
particularly the advent of e-scooters and increasing popularity of e-bikes.
·
Further work needs to be done into
understanding why non-bus users don’t use the bus currently, and what
would encourage them to use it more.
·
Pilots and trials are essential for the
introduction of a new service.
·
A significant increase in marketing would be
essential –perhaps an introductory free period
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Park and Ride facilities are needed if we are
going to get significantly more people commuting between towns by bus.
·
What opportunities are there for bus lanes/bus
priority?
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The price of carbon needs to increase
significantly to make any of these suggestions cost-effective for their
carbon mitigation value alone.
·
What effect is the introduction of Uber likely
to have on the bus service?
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Other investigations also underway, including
an assessment of CHB transport needs. When RTC’s feedback on the
ideas is put forward to HBRC, it was proposed that this item be
attached to the paper for councillors to make an informed decision on the
proposals.
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