Agenda of Regional Transport Committee

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 13 December 2019

Subject: Appointments and Terms of Reference for the Regional Transport Committee

Reason for Report

1. This report receives appointments to the Committee for confirmation by the Regional Council

Terms of Reference

2. Terms of reference (ToR) for the committees of the Regional Council are reviewed by the Council at the commencement of each three-year term.

3. The most recent ToR for the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) are attached and were submitted to the council for review and adoption in November. The Regional Council adopted the Terms of Reference without alteration.

Appointments to the Regional Transport Committee

4. Appointments to the Committee for the 2019-2022 triennium have been received from all councils and the NZ Transport Agency.

5. These are:

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council	Cr Martin Williams (Chair), Cr Charles Lambert (Deputy Chair)
Napier City Council	Cr Keith Price, alternate Mayor Kirsten Wise
Hastings District Council	Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, alternate not confirmed
Wairoa District Council	Mayor Craig Little, alternate Cr Jeremy Harker
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council	Mayor Alex Walker, alternate Cr Kate Taylor
NZ Transport Agency	Ms Emma Speight, alternate Mr Oliver Postings

Retiring Members or Advisors of the Regional Transport Committee

6. A number of previous members have retired from the Committee. These are

6.1. Councillor Alan Dick, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (Chair )

6.2. Councillor Fenton Wilson, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council ( Deputy Chair )

6.3. Councillor David Tennent, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council ( alternate)

6.4. Mayor Bill Dalton, Napier City Council (alternate)

6.5. Deputy Mayor Tania Kerr, Hastings District Council

6.6. Councillor Ann Redstone, Hastings District Council (alternate)

7. Members of the RTC and staff convey their thanks to retiring members for their contribution to the work of the Committee.

Financial and Resource Implications

8. There are no significant financial implications for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, only those relating to Committee administration and catering costs.

Decision Making Process

9. Council is 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:

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

9.2. The use of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation.

9.3. The decision does not fall within the definition of Council’s policy on significance.

9.4. The persons affected by this decision are transport stakeholder groups in the region.

9.5. Options that have been considered include having no advisors to the RTC or other advisory representation.

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

9.7. 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.

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and notes the “Appointments and Terms of Reference for the Regional Transport Committee” report.

2. Receives the Elected Representative appointments by the region’s Territorial Local Authorities, and appointments by the NZ Transport Agency, being:

2.1 Councillor Keith Price – Napier City Council, and Mayor Kirsten Wise as alternate

2.2 Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst – Hastings District Council, alternate to be confirmed

2.3 Mayor Craig Little – Wairoa District Council, and Councillor Jeremy Harker as alternate

2.4 Mayor Alex Walker – Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, and Councillor Kate Taylor as alternate

2.5 Ms Emma Speight – NZ Transport Agency, and Mr Oliver Postings as alternate

3. Thanks retiring members of the Committee for their contribution and wishes them well for future endeavours

The Regional Transport Committee recommends that Council:

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

5. Confirms the Elected Representative appointments by the region’s Territorial Local Authorities and appointments by the NZ Transport Agency to the Regional Transport Committee, being:

5.1 Councillor Keith Price – Napier City Council, and Mayor Kirsten Wise as alternate

5.2 Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst – Hastings District Council, alternate to be confirmed

5.3 Mayor Craig Little – Wairoa District Council, and Councillor Jeremy Harker as alternate

5.4 Mayor Alex Walker – Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, and Councillor Kate Taylor as alternate

5.5 Ms Emma Speight – NZ Transport Agency, and Mr Oliver Postings as alternate

Authored by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

⇩1

2019 RTC Terms of Reference

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 13 December 2019

Subject: December 2019 HBRC Transport Manager's Report

Reason for Report

1. This regular report provides the Committee with a snapshot of relevant transport matters, provides updates from the Transport Advisory Group (TAG) on issues raised at their regular meetings and outlines what is coming up within the transport sector.

Transport Advisory Group meetings

2. The TAG group has met to:

2.1. hear a presentation and discuss the development of a Network Operating Framework

2.2. review progress on the HB Transport Study

2.3. discuss the joint regional speed limit review.

The Hawke’s Bay Transport Study

3. After some delays with the approval of funding by NZTA for the Hawke’s Bay Transport Study, the first stages of the study are underway.

4. Data collection (through Google) on travel times and average speeds across key routes on the Heretaunga Plains has been completed and this will inform the update of the transport model, which is now underway through GHD Ltd.

5. The second stage of the study is to prepare a network operating framework (NOF) and the scope of work for this is currently being prepared. The NOF will examine region’s network as a whole across all modes and help to link the region’s strategic objectives with how the network is managed and improved in the future. The framework will set out the agreed function of key routes e.g. freight, commuter, cycling, pedestrian, public transport. In some cases, this function might differ by time of day and management techniques would be put in place to allow this.

6. The third stage of the study will be to develop a programme business case for future improvements, management techniques etc. for the transport network and services.

Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021(GPS)

7. Although we are only one and a half years into the three-year transport funding cycle, work is already underway on the next GPS to set the direction for land transport from 2021 to 2024.

8. A draft document is expected to be released in early 2020 for public engagement. If the timing of this consultation period fits with the RTC meeting schedule, we may arrange a presentation from Ministry of Transport officials at the March meeting.

Rail

9. The Future of Rail is a cross-agency project led by the Ministry of Transport, working alongside KiwiRail, the NZ Transport Agency, the Treasury, Auckland Transport, and Greater Wellington to define and develop the Future of Rail in New Zealand.

10. The Future of Rail looks at what purpose rail serves, and what outcomes rail can deliver for New Zealand as part of the transport system.

11. The purpose of this work is to integrate rail into the transport system, so rail is planned, funded and looked after alongside other transport modes.

12. A New Zealand Rail Plan is also under development and is expected to be released soon. The Rail Plan will have a 10-year horizon and set out a range of matters, including:

12.1. the Government’s longer-term strategic vision for rail

12.2. the planning and operating environment for rail

12.3. a 10-year programme of indicative investments and benefits, roles and responsibilities for the entities involved

12.4. funding sources and principles, and

12.5. a plan to monitor the performance of rail against the Government objectives.

Road to Zero

13. Although road safety in New Zealand has generally improved over the past four decades, for the last five years there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of deaths on NZ roads. Experts are unable to clearly identify a single cause for this.

14. At present, on average, one person dies on New Zealand’s roads every day and another is injured every hour of every day.

15. The 2010 road safety strategy “Safer Journeys” is due to be replaced by 2020. The Cabinet paper which introduces the review of Safer Journeys highlights some deficiencies in the previous strategy but also the need for urgent action to tackle this recent increase in deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

16. The RTC prepared a submission to “Road to Zero”, a consultation document that was released in July. “Road to Zero” takes a different approach to previous strategies and is modelled on successful strategies in other parts of the world. A summary document outlining this approach has been included in your orientation packs.

17. It is expected that the final strategy and the first of a series of action plans will be released before the end of the year.

Tackling Unsafe Speeds programme

18. The Ministry of Transport announced the Tackling Unsafe Speeds programme at the end of November. The programme forms part of the first action plan for Road to Zero, the new road safety strategy to be released shortly. This proposal will affect how speed limits are managed and reviewed by the councils and NZTA, through the development of speed management plans

19. This has implications for the Regional Transport Committee, which will now be formally responsible for coordinating and supporting public consultation on speed management plans, in conjunction with the Regional Land Transport Plan process.

20. The Hawke’s Bay RTC discussed speed limit reviews earlier in the year and made a decision to coordinate our region’s speed limit review process in 2020. Interestingly, we were ahead of the game in deciding that a regional approach made good sense. However, the exact role the Committee will play will become clearer as the new process unfolds.

21. The letter (Attached) highlights other interesting changes, such as that NZTA will take over the ownership and operation of speed cameras.

22. Further information will be provided to the Committee as it becomes available.

Regional Cycling Governance Group

23. Nominations have been sought from all councils for the new triennium. The first meeting of the new governance group will take place early in the new year.

24. Plans for an off-road link on the Waimarama Road section of the Landscapes Ride (previously known as the Mad Mile) are now progressing well. HDC is working with iwi on archaeological assessment and consultation and it is hoped that construction will take place over the summer. Once this link is in place, the Landscapes Ride will be reopened as part of the New Zealand Cycle Trails Great Rides network.

25. Detailed investigation into the Bay View-Whirinaki extension of the Water Ride is also progressing, although there are still some land issues to be resolved.

26. The Walking and Cycling Summit is being hosted by Hawke’s Bay on 13 March 2020. The Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, will speak at the summit. Further information and registrations are through Walking and Cycling Summit 2020 (link requires Google Chrome as browser).

Other Significant Issues or Works

NZTA Highway Network and Operations

27. An update on work by NZTA Highway Network and Operations Group forms part of the Regional Director’s report.

Hastings District Council

28. The bridge strengthening programme is ahead of schedule. All of Taihape Road from HDC boundary to Hastings (except the boundary bridge) plus all of Kereru Road is now HPMV capable.

29. All of the Napier Rd structures, plus Ohurakura Road (except the bridge at the end) and Berry Road (to 50Max) have also been investigated and strengthened. These bridges will be released from restrictions soon.

30. Ohara bridge strengthening works are underway with Moeangiangi and Riggirs bridges soon to be procured.

31. Initial investigations into remaining bridges in the programme have been completed to enable them to progress to evaluation stage.

Napier City Council

32. Napier City Council is underway with the development of its Transportation Strategy. The strategy follows the completion of the citywide micro-simulation model to identify the desired future state of the City and its transport network and identify the capital improvement and policy changes which will assist the city in working towards that state.

33. The strategy is intended to bridge the gap between the regional strategy/NOF and the City’s District Plan review and City Vision. Initial work on the strategy has included vision and objective setting along with a vision sharing exercise with key stakeholders including NZTA, HBRC, HDC and Port of Napier. Napier’s consultant, Stantec, is currently gathering a processing data prior to further workshops in the New Year.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

34. Reports on the public transport operations and road safety education outputs managed by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are the subjects of separate items in this agenda.

Decision Making Process

35. 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 “December 2019 HBRC Transport Manager's report”.

Authored by: Approved by:

Anne Redgrave

Transport Manager

Tom Skerman

Group Manager Strategic Planning

Attachment/s

⇩1

Announcement of the Tackling Unsafe Speeds programme

HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL

Regional Transport Committee

Friday 13 December 2019

Subject: RoadSafe Hawke's Bay December 2019 Update

Reason for Report

1. This regular report provides the Committee with a snapshot of road safety activities undertaken by Roadsafe Hawke’s Bay and, as necessary, will brief the Committee on any current or upcoming issues relevant to road safety.

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. Safer Journeys 2020 – the national road safety strategy (soon to be replaced by Road to Zero, as discussed elsewhere in the agenda) and action plans arising from this.

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 2019 calendar year to date.

Territorial Authority	Road deaths 1 Jan to 27 November 2019
Wairoa	1
Hastings	4
Napier	8
Central Hawke’s Bay	4
TOTAL	17

5. There were 14 deaths on Hawke’s Bay roads for the same period in 2018.

Factors in Road Fatalities - 2019 year to date.

	Wairoa	Napier	Hastings	CHB
Drivers	1	5	2	2
Passenger			1	2
Cyclist			1
Pedestrian		1
Motorcyclist		2
Age of person killed
0-15 years			1
16-19 years			1
20-24 years		1		1
25-39 years		3		1
40-59 years	1	2		2
60+		2	2
Location of fatal crashes
Local Road – Urban		2	2
Local Road – Open Road	1	3	2	2
State Highway - Urban
State Highway – Open Road		3		2

6. The NZTA Communities at Risk Register (2018) sets out the personal and collective risk of being involved in a crash caused by one of a range of factors, compared with other territorial authorities.

7. Personal risk reflects the distance travelled and is measured by the number of deaths and serious injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled^{^[1]}. The table below sets out the factors for which Hawke’s Bay district residents are at high or medium personal risk.

8. As may be seen from the table below, Wairoa District has a significantly higher rate of serious crashes per million kilometres travelled than the other districts, although actual numbers may not appear as high as other districts with more traffic movement.

District

Overall

Young Drivers

Alcohol Drugs

Speed

Rural Intersections

Urban intersections

All Intersections

Rural Loss Control

Motorcyclist involved

Cyclist Involved

Pedestrian Involved

Distraction

Fatigue

Older Road Users

Restraints

Wairoa DC

Hastings DC

Napier CC

Central Hawke’s Bay DC

Key:

High personal risk

Medium personal risk

Crash factors – trends over time

9. The following graphs set out trends over time for a range of crash factors in Hawke’s Bay. 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.

Funding

10. The road safety programme is funded from three sources:

10.1. The NZ Transport Agency

10.2. Territorial Authorities contribution (Wairoa District Council, Hastings District Council, Napier City Council, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council)

10.3. HBRC rates.

RoadSafe Hawke’s Bay Recent Activities

11. Department of Corrections Joint Project: We continue to run the road safety education days in partnership with Police also. This is for traffic offences (mainly recidivist offending drivers) who have received community service as part of their sentence. Feedback from the attendees is mainly positive, with many saying that it has changed their attitude throughout the day. The aim then is to continue to build on this change. We are working towards creating a take-home resource so that they can continue discussions with their family and/or friends. One of the themes of the programme is about how participants can break the cycle and become a leader in their whanau. We see the programme as a brief intervention model that supports a comprehensive restorative plan set by their probations officer and other requirements that the Ministry of Justice has determined as part of their sentence.

12. Department Of Corrections – Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison Joint Project: We have been running a 6 week road safety graphic design project in the Youth Unit. The focus is on high risk road safety issues and the youth design resources that we use in our campaigns. They also produce a clothing range with road safety messages on them. They wear the clothing within the prison at formal greetings and welcomes. At the end of the course they receive certificates which go into their release pack and CV. We will run this course again in the Maori Focus Unit. The final draft designs are completed and we will produce these for use over our summer campaigns.

13. Xmas Alcohol Checkpoints: We are preparing for the Xmas alcohol checkpoints that we support over December. These have a festive theme and we will be doing these across Hawke’s Bay.

14. Police Impairment Prevention Team: We have been working with this team over several months. They head to Gisborne approximately every three weeks and do checkpoints along the way. We provide information and advice to the drivers that pass through the checkpoints. We also provide information and refreshment packs to the truck drivers who come through the checkpoint. This supports the project’s emphasis on safety education before infringements.

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 and notes the “RoadSafe Hawke's Bay December 2019 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 13 December 2019

Subject: December 2019 Public Transport Update

Reason for Report

1. To provide the Committee with an introduction to and 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.

Bus Services

4. The Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) was introduced by the National government in a 2013 amendment to the Act. The model provides for tighter control by regional councils over the bus services to be provided in their regions.

5. This was largely in response to issues in the major cities where operators cherry-picked services to provide commercially, requiring the councils to contract the less profitable services. This made it very difficult for councils to plan and manage an integrated network of services. Now almost all services must be under contract to the council, even if they are commercially viable.

6. PTOM also requires all contracts to be gross, meaning that the regional council takes the profit from increased fare revenue through higher patronage (or loss, through lower patronage), although there are provisions in the contracts for financial incentive mechanisms for operators, to encourage patronage growth.

Current Bus Network

7. The goBay bus services, which are delivered by Go Bus Transport Ltd, consist of:

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

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

7.3 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7.11 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.

Passenger Surveys

8. Every two years we carry out a passenger survey and the last survey, which was carried out in 2018, showed that 88% of passengers were satisfied with the public transport system. (Although that is a reasonably good result, there is still room for improvement).

New Bus Ticketing System

9. A project to implement a new bus ticketing and smartcard system for nine regional councils across New Zealand is now well into the implementation phase. The provider is INIT, a company based in Germany but which has built such systems all over the world.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. The provisional date for implementation is April 2020.

Bus Passengers

14. Diagram 1 shows the categories of passengers carried in 2018-19.

Diagram 1

Bus Passenger Trips

15. Diagram 2 shows public transport trips made from Jul-Oct 2012-13 to 2019-20.

Diagram 2

Bus Service Costs

16. Diagram 3 shows the annual net cost (after fares and excluding GST) of operating the goBay bus service from Jul-Oct 2012-13 to 2019-20.

Diagram 3

(51% of this cost is met by the New Zealand Transport Agency)

17. 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.

18. With patronage declining over the last five years, there are a range of factors, which may be currently preventing greater public transport use in HB

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

18.2. Cost of fares compared with the cost of driving

18.3. Ease, availability and low cost of parking

18.4. The spatial layout of the Heretaunga Plains with dispersed population centres

18.5. Limited service hours at present

18.6. Geographical coverage of the bus service

18.7. Persistent late running issues on Route 12 between cities, mainly due to traffic congestion (however, as of 2 December we are confident that route adjustments will help the service to operate on time).

Total Mobility

19. 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.

20. Diagram 4 shows the number of Total Mobility trips made from 2012-2013 to 2018-19

Diagram 4

21. Diagram 5 shows the cost of the Total Mobility Scheme (excl GST) from 2012-13 to 2018-19.

Diagram 5

(60% of this cost is met by the New Zealand Transport Agency

Carbon Mitigation through Public Transport

22. Following the declaration of a climate change emergency and a public transport workshop held in June, regional councillors were enthusiastic about the role that public transport could play in reducing carbon emissions, and the transport team was tasked with investigating options for increasing the patronage of the public transport network in Hawkes’ Bay.

23. A range of proposals was presented to the RTC in September for discussion, followed by consideration by the regional council at its final meeting of the triennium. The preferred proposal was for a lower flat fare system to be introduced. This is explained in more detail below.

24. The carbon mitigation effect of the existing bus service was calculated, using the following assumptions:

24.1 That all bus passenger trips replace a single-occupancy petrol car journey

24.2 An average CO2 emissions per km figure has been used – some cars will emit more or less than this. In 2018, the average CO2 emission of a petrol car in the NZ fleet was 181.5g per kilometre, a considerable reduction since 2006 when the average was well over 200g per km (This is due to improvements in the fleet).

25 In 2017-18, 7,047,232 passenger kilometres were travelled on the HB network. Using the above assumptions, this equates to a reduction of 1,279 tonnes of CO2 annually. However, the buses themselves emit approximately 1,100 tonnes of CO2 in a year, equating to a net saving of 179 tonnes of CO2 per year.

26 Increasing passenger numbers and improving the occupancy of our buses would improve this figure, as would further improvements to the bus fleet, or the replacement of some low patronage routes with on-demand services.

27 In addition to the contribution that increased patronage could make to transport emissions reduction, there are also some emerging issues on the road network that public transport could help to mitigate. In particular, increased use of buses could help to reduce growth in traffic numbers on the HB Expressway, particularly at peak times, thereby possibly postponing the need for four-laning of some sections of the Expressway. There has been substantial growth in traffic on the Expressway, with some sections showing an increase in average daily traffic of 25% – 35% since 2010.

Preferred proposal to improve bus patronage – cheaper fares for all passengers, all the time

28. This would see all one-zone trips reduced to $1, irrespective of passenger type, smartcard only. All two-zone trips to cost $2, irrespective of passenger type, smartcard only.

29. Some additional peak services to manage expected demand. It is expected that most other services would be able to absorb up to a doubling of patronage.

Rationale

30. This proposal would provide a fare reduction for all passengers, with adult passengers benefitting the most and school children the least.

	Adult			Tertiary Student/Community Services Card			Child/High School Student/Senior
	Current	Proposed	Decrease	Current	Proposed	Decrease	Current	Proposed	Decrease
1 zone	$2.88	$1.00	65%	$1.90	$1.00	47%	$1.43	$1.00	30%
2 zone	$3.65	$2.00	45%	$2.86	$2.00	30%	$2.14	$2.00	7%

Diagram 6: Smartcard Fares

31. The cheaper fares would encourage new passengers across all services, including off-peak when occupancy is generally quite low. Feedback during the Regional Public Transport Plan consultation showed that the cost of 1-zone fares for adults is a significant disincentive to using the bus, particularly with the amount of free parking that is available in both Hastings and Napier.

32. Elasticity of demand is a concept used to model the likely effects of a range of variables on public transport demand. Standard short-run elasticity values for changes in fares on NZ bus services state that for every 10% decrease in fare levels, a 4% increase in patronage may result in the short-term, with this percentage likely to double over time. (https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/248/248-Review-of-passenger-transport-demand-elasticities.pdf, Booz Allen Hamilton, 2004).

33. As may be seen in the table above, the proposed fare reductions are quite significant and while other factors will also play a part, we could reasonably expect patronage growth of at least 30% over time. For example, commuters between Napier and Hastings would see that $20 to commute all week on the bus would be less than half the cost of driving a petrol vehicle, especially when parking costs are taken into consideration. Very cheap fares are a substantial motivator, as evidenced by the uptake of subsidised staff bus schemes at HBDHB and HBRC.

34. All passenger groups would benefit, and this would contribute to government aims of improving accessibility, as well as reducing carbon emissions.

35. Making the cheapest fares available by smartcard only, would incentivise greater uptake of the cards (currently sitting at about 75% of trips). This would mean less cash on buses and faster boarding times.

Issues

36. As this option removes concession fares for certain passenger groups when using smartcards, we would need to decide whether to retain them for cash fares, or remove them and set cash fares at consistent, but higher rates for all passengers. We believe that consistency and simplicity is important, so our recommendation is that concessions are removed from cash fares also, and these are set at $3 (two-zone trip), $2 (one-zone trip).

Rough cost and carbon benefit

37. As this option is not for free fares, but significantly cheaper ones, extra patronage (assuming 30% over time) would largely offset lower fares.

38. There would be a cost to add further peak services to the fleet to cater for an expected increase in demand. This requires more detailed investigation to quantify, but is likely to cost at least $150,000 annually.

39. Assuming a 30% increase in patronage over time (in the same ratio of one-zone:two-zone patronage as we currently carry) a further annual saving of 384 tonnes of carbon would be made.

Next steps

40. We are currently quantifying the scale and cost of the peak service increases that would be necessary and will take the business case for this proposal back to council for consideration for inclusion in the annual or long term plan.

Decision Making Process

41. 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 “December 2019 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.

[1] High Personal Risk – 1 standard deviation above the mean, Medium Personal Risk – 0.5 standard deviation above the mean

Topic	Raised by

Item	Topic	Raised by
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.