Meeting of the Regional Transport Committee

 

 

Date:                        15 March 2024

Time:                       1.00pm

Venue:

Council Chamber

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

159 Dalton Street

NAPIER

 

Agenda

 

Item          Title                                                                                                                                                                         Page

 

1.             Welcome /Karakia /Housekeeping /Apologies

2.             Conflict of Interest declarations

3.             Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on 3 November 2023

4.             Follow-ups from previous Regional Transport Committee meetings                                                3

Decision Items

5.             Regional Land Transport Plan adoption for consultation                                                                      7

Information or Performance Monitoring

6.             MyWay Trial Evaluation                                                                                                                                   11

7.             Regional Transport Programme March 2024 update                                                                           13

8.             NZTA Waka Kotahi Regional Relationships Director's update                                                           17

9.             Verbal updates from Advisory Representatives

 


 

Glossary of Transport terms

CERF

Climate Emergency Response Fund

DSI

Death and serious injury

EECA

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority

ERP

Emissions Reduction Plan

GHG

Greenhouse gases

GPS

Government Position Statement

The government’s land transport priorities for a 10-year period. Includes details of how funding through NLTF can be utilised

ILM

Investment logic map

LTMA

Land Transport Management Act

The core legislation that sets out how Councils can manage land transport  

NLTF

National Land Transport Fund

NLTP

National Land Transport Plan

ODPT

On demand public transport

A public transport service designed to suit the needs of the user, operating in the same manner / style as a service such as Uber rather than a regular scheduled service

PBC

Programme business case

PT

Public transport

RCA

Road Controlling Authority

RLTP

Regional Land Transport Plan

A statutory document established by the RTC setting the strategic direction and transport investments across HB - reviewed every three years

RPTP

Regional Public Transport Plan

Prepared by HBRC, this sets out the public transport services across HB and defines policies and procedures for public transport. It also details information and infrastructure supporting public transport.

RSHB

Road Safety Hawke’s Bay

RSMP

Regional Speed Management Plan

Plan sets a ten-year vision and a three-year implementation plan for speed management on all HB roads. 

RTAG

Regional Transport Advisory Group

Specialist council officers and subject matter experts that provide advice to the RTC

RTC

Regional Transport Committee – includes Councillors from every Council in HB 

SH

State highway (SH5, SH2, SH50 etc)

SIP

Speed and Infrastructure Programme

tCO2e

Tonnes of CO2 equivalent

VKT

Vehicle kilometres travelled

 


Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Regional Transport Committee

15 March 2024

Subject: Follow-ups from previous Regional Transport Committee meetings

 

Introduction

1.      Attached is a list of items raised at previous Regional Transport Committee meetings that require follow-up. Each follow-up item indicates who is responsible, when it is expected to be completed and a brief status comment. Once the items have been completed and reported to the committee they will be removed from the list.

Decision-making process

2.      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 Follow-ups from previous Regional Transport Committee meetings.

 

 

Authored by:

Peter Martin

Senior Governance Advisor

 

Approved by:

Bryce Cullen

Transport Strategy & Policy Analyst

 

 

Attachment/s

1

Follow-ups from previous RTC meetings

 

 

  


Follow-ups from previous RTC meetings

Attachment 1

 

PDF Creator 


Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Regional Transport Committee

15 March 2024

Subject: Regional Land Transport Plan adoption for consultation

 

Reason for report

1.      This item presents the draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) 2024 – 2034 to approve for public consultation.

Officers’ recommendations

2.      Staff recommend that the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2024 – 2034 and supporting consultation document are adopted by the Committee for public consultation as proposed, with consultation planned to commence on Monday 18 March 2024.

Executive summary

3.      This report seeks the Committee’s approval of the draft 2021-31 RLTP and consultation document for public consultation.

4.      The draft Regional Land Transport Plan is provided as attachment 1.

Background /Discussion

5.      The RLTP is a statutory document that must be prepared by the Regional Transport Committee (the Committee) every six years and reviewed every three years as required by the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA). The Regional Council developed the current RLTP in 2021.

6.      The RLTP comprises three key parts:

6.1.       The strategic framework section which has the desired future state with a 30-year vision, objectives, headline targets, policies, implementation measures and long-term results.

6.2.       The transport investment programme, which responds to the three main transport priorities over the next decade, helping our region to realise the 30-year vision.  The detailed 10-year transport priorities set out sub-priorities that set out the challenges, evidence, and proposed investment to overcome the barrier or challenge.

6.3.       Regional Programmes which set out the land transport activities for the next 3-6 years and provides a 10-year expenditure and revenue forecast.

7.      The RLTP (Attachment 1) must be prepared by the Committee and adopted by the Regional Council and submitted to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency by 14 June 2024. This timeline enables Waka Kotahi to adopt the National Land Transport Programme by end August 2024, setting out the activities to be funded/anticipated to be funded from the National Land Transport Fund for the next 3 years (as per LTMA s19C requirements).

8.      The 2024 RLTP review used a template developed by the Transport Special Interest Group alongside the NZ Transport Agency.  The purpose of the template was to bring about greater consistency of RLTPs across all regions and ensure that all legislative requirements are met. In using this template, Hawke’s Bay has closely incorporated impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle and formed the investment narrative around what our transport system now needs, which may deviate in some ways from the template. These are limited to the narrative, not statutory requirements.

9.      The 2024 RLTP process has included workshops and ongoing discussions with Committee members, key stakeholders, the Technical Advisory Group, and the Regional Recovery Agency to define issues and opportunities, develop the 10-year transport priorities and accompanying investment programme, and set the strategic direction of the next RLTP.

10.    The Committee agreed and adopted the 30-year strategic vision, objectives, policies, and 10-year transport priorities at the 4 August 2023 Committee meeting.

11.    The Committee agreed the prioritisation of the Capital works programme and the Significance Policy at the 3 November 2023 Committee meeting.

12.    At the time of writing, the draft RLTP is complete, including monitoring frameworks and headline targets. However, due to the incoming government’s review of the Government Position Statement (GPS) and the announcement of the draft GPS being made on 4 March, there may need to be changes made to the RLTP in response and to any submission points following the consultation process. Any changes will need to be considered at the time of hearing submissions and deliberations by the RTC.

Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024

13.    The draft GPS on Land Transport 2024 was due to be released in August 2023. With the change of Government, the draft GPS was released on 4 March 2024. The draft GPS will undergo a month-long consultation process, finishing on 1 April.

14.    Staff have worked within a limited timeframe to ensure there is alignment between the draft GPS and the draft RLTP. Strategic direction alignment is clear. However, the limited time did not allow for a fulsome review within the context of the draft GPS. Changes can be made as part of the RLTP consultation period.

15.    The four strategic priorities for the draft GPS 2024 are:

15.1.     Economic Growth and Productivity

15.2.     Increased Maintenance and Resilience

15.3.     Safety

15.4.     Value for Money.

16.    These strategic priorities strongly align with the draft RLTP, particularly the strategic priorities around Increased Maintenance and Resilience and Economic Growth and Productivity.

17.    Following the release of the draft GPS, the State Highway Improvement Programme (SHIP) is likely to change. This could materially alter the Capital Works programme in the draft RLTP once the consultation process has closed. Any such changes will be dealt with through the RLTP variation process.

Options assessment

18.    The preparation and review of the Regional Land Transport Plan is a statutory requirement to complete the Regional Land Transport Plan

19.    Other transport network management options were included in the consideration of relevant issues and options during the development of the draft RLTP.

Strategic fit

20.    The preparation and review of the Regional Land Transport Plan is a statutory requirement to complete the Regional Land Transport Plan

Significance and Engagement Policy assessment

21.    In terms of the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy, the matter of proceeding with consultation on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2034 is not significant.

Climate Change considerations

22.    The regional transport system contributes to climate change and our regional emissions footprint. Transport emissions and the mitigation effects on the transport system were major considerations in the development of the draft RLTP. This is reflected in strategic priority 2 – Drive a low emissions transport system.

23.    The draft RLTP addresses transport emissions through a range of different proposed investments, including a step-change in public transport services and investigating the Green Hydrogen opportunity for Hawke’s Bay.

Considerations of tangata whenua

24.    The development of the RLTP has included consideration of tangata whenua and their transport needs.  Tangata whenua are identified as vulnerable to transport network connectivity, especially those in rural areas and in relation to objectives for road safety.

25.    The RLTP includes policies and initiatives that will enable targeting of at-risk communities and behaviours as well as ongoing maintenance and improvements of rural roads.

26.    The RLTP consultation process and timeline, along with the intent of the draft RLTP were shared at the 6 March Māori Committee meeting. Staff sought insight and advice on how to best engage with tangata whenua during the consultation period.

Financial and resource implications

27.    The financial and resource implications of the RLTP 2021-2031 have been accounted for in Long Term Plan budgets by each Council in the region.

Consultation

28.    The draft RLTP is being considered by the Committee prior to release for public consultation, scheduled for Monday 18 March – 14 April 2024, noting that some minor changes and amendments may be made to it ahead of release.

29.    The draft consultation document is presented in attachment 2, noting that no further changes to it can be made due to time constraints.

30.    As noted previously, staff have worked at pace to ensure there is alignment with the draft GPS on Land Transport and, given both the RLTP and the GPS are in draft form for consultation, changes may be required through the consultation process.

Other considerations

31.    The RLTP contains the direction for management and improvement of the transport networks and associated transport services including public transport and road safety programmes.  The co-funding for these is provided for through the authorising organisation’s Long Term Plan.

32.    The final content of all the activity tables in section 11 of the RLTP – including activities approved but not completed and regionally significant expenditure from other funding sources – are as complete as possible at the time of writing. This is largely due to the dynamic environment the RLTP is currently operating in.

Decision-making process

33.    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:

33.1.     The decision does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset, nor is it inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.

33.2.     The consultation procedure for the Regional Land Transport Plan is prescribed by section 18 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 and section 82 and 83 of the Local Government Act 2002. Public consultation will be held between 18 March and 14 April 2024.

33.3.     The persons affected by this decision are ratepayers and others with an interest in the region’s transportation networks.

33.4.     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, the Committee can exercise its discretion and make the required decisions without consulting directly with the community.

 

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1.      Receives and considers the Regional Land Transport Plan adoption for consultation staff report.

2.      Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in 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.      Releases the draft Regional Land Transport Plan and consultation document for consultation from 18 March 2024 for a period of 4 weeks ending on 14 April 2024, following minor amendments and formatting changes.

4.      Appoints a Hearing Panel to hear and make decisions on submissions on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan in May 2024, comprising:

4.1.       ...

4.2.      

4.3.      

4.4.      

4.5.      

5.      Agrees that a submission on the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024 is to be made, and delegates staff and two members of the Regional Transport Committee, being _______________ and __________, to develop that submission.

 

Authored by:

Bryce Cullen

Transport Strategy & Policy Analyst

Mark Allan

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Katrina Brunton

Group Manager Policy & Regulation

 

Attachment/s

1          draft Regional Land Transport Plan       Under separate cover

2          RLTP consultation document                  Under separate cover


Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Regional Transport Committee

15 March 2024

Subject: MyWay Trial Evaluation

 

Reason for report

1.      This report presents the MyWay Trial Evaluation report to the Regional Transport Committee for consideration.

Executive summary

2.      The MyWay on-demand trial commenced in the Hastings urban area in June 2022 as an app-based on-demand public transport service. The trial replaced three under-performing fixed route services that consistently had low patronage and poor fare revenue. The review report is attachment 1 to this paper.

Background

3.      The intent of the trial, launched in June 2022, was to offer an on-demand public transport service for the Hastings urban area to test whether it would increase patronage, create greater access, and provide genuine transport choice.

4.      Overall, throughout the course of the trial the service experienced a noticeable uplift in patronage when compared with the fixed-route services. At $2 per ride the service provided an accessible means of transport for a range of people. However, the trial did experience a range of challenges, such as technological inequity, limited access, anti-social behavior issues and increased cost of delivery.

Discussion

5.      MyWay is primarily an app-based service, operating in a similar way to the Uber taxi service. The service operates in the main urban area of Hastings, (not including Havelock or Flaxmere) with a pickup point within 200m of the booking origin.

6.      If a user does not have an app-enabled cell phone, it is possible to book a MyWay ride via phone. This call would come through to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council call centre where a team member would book the ride.

7.      For customers without a mobile device, several sites were identified during the trial development process as either key spots to order a MyWay, such as the Hastings Library or key drop off locations, such as McDonalds or Kmart.

8.      The introduction of the service was preceded by a soft launch with ‘user champions’. These champions trialed the service for a number of weeks, providing feedback on the planned service and what improvements might be required. 

9.      Although phone call bookings were made possible, the service was more difficult to use for those users and took up a significant amount of time for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Customer Experience Team.

10.    The table below sets out the overall performance of the trial against the objectives. The three fixed-route services that the MyWay trial was replacing carried approximately 25,000 passengers per annum. The actual numbers have been converted to a percentage as some figures are commercially sensitive.

Metric

Target percentage change

Actual percentage change

Patronage

+ 70% on fixed route historic performance

+50% on fixed route historic performance

Annual gross operating costs

+104% compared with fixed route operating costs

+159% compared with fixed route operating costs

Fare revenue

+298% versus fixed route service

+140% against fixed route service

Subsidy per trip

+10% versus fixed route subsidy rate

+73% against fixed route subsidy rate

 

11.    While the trial created greater transport access, there were a range of users in the Hastings urban area who relied heavily on the consistency and reliability of the fixed-route services. These people did not have access to mobile devices and, in most cases, also didn’t have a land line, so were unable to use the service. With no other transport choice, this presented a potential isolation challenge.

12.    The HBRC customer experience (CX) team fielded a significant volume of MyWay calls on a daily basis, taking up a significant amount of staff time. The CX team also experienced a range of abuse from the public.

13.    Overall, the service experienced significant cost inflation, meaning that any further extension of the service past the contracted date may become prohibitively expensive.

Next steps

14.    MyWay will continue to run until the end of the contracted period, expiring at the end of July 2025.

15.    Staff will continue to evaluate the place of on-demand public transport in any future public transport network.

Decision-making process

16.    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 MyWay trial evaluation report.

 

Authored by:

Bryce Cullen

Transport Strategy & Policy Analyst

Mark Allan

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Katrina Brunton

Group Manager Policy & Regulation

 

 

Attachment/s

1

On-Demand Trial Evaluation Report

 

Under Separate Cover

  


Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Regional Transport Committee

15 March 2024

Subject: Regional Transport Programme March 2024 update

 

Reason for report

1.      This agenda item provides an update on the progress on the Regional Transport Advisory Group (RTAG) workstreams and updated Regional Transport Programme Tracker (attached).

Background

2.      The Regional Transport Programme Tracker was introduced in February 2023 and provides a snapshot of the RTAG workstreams in addition to the commentary provided in this paper.

Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP)

3.      The RLTP has been drafted and is presented at the 15 March Committee meeting to be endorsed for public consultation, scheduled to start on 18 March.

4.      The draft RLTP focuses on resilience, maintenance, connecting our communities, and our local / rural roading network. The draft also outlines the new public transport network, scheduled for mid-2025, setting out the step-change this will provide, giving our community enhanced transport choice. 

5.      A draft Government Position Statement (GPS) 2024 was released for consultation in August 2023, pre-election.  The new Government has undertaken a re-write of the GPS as part of its 100-day plan and the GPS was released on 4 March 2024.

6.      Staff have endeavoured to ensure there is alignment between the draft GPS and the draft RLTP within the limited time available. Strategic direction alignment is clear, however, a fulsome review was not possible and changes may need to be made during the RLTP consultation period.

Regional Speed Management Planning

7.      This work has been ceased by the Transport Minister. Existing plans for speed management around schools and marae may proceed, but any further work must stop.

RoadSafe Hawke’s Bay

8.      The Road Safety Strategy development continues in collaboration with district and city councils as staff resourcing and time allows.

9.      Detailed planning is underway for the Youth Road Safety Expo. This year it will be open to students from years 11 – 13 from across the region, along with the general public. This is a significant event on the RoadSafe Hawke’s Bay calendar and runs for a week in early May.

10.    Business as usual activities continue across the region. Two subject matter expert contractors have been engaged to assist with community initiatives, capitalising on the rebrand, new messaging, and momentum that has been created.

Transport Emissions Reduction Plan

11.    The draft Transport Emissions Reduction chapter was endorsed by the Committee at the 3 November meeting. This has subsequently been built into the overall Regional Emissions Reduction Plan, tabled with the Climate Action Joint Committee. Several actions from the Transport chapter are in progress, for example, a Green Hydrogen working group has been established with industry and key stakeholders examining options for heavy freight decarbonisation.

Active Transport

12.    Planned Transport Choices projects will not proceed as planned. Funding for these initiatives is no longer available.

13.    Progress on the Regional Active Transport Strategy has been slower than anticipated. Work will continue throughout 2024.

Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) implementation

14.    The RPTP was adopted in September 2022 and will provide a step-change for public transport services in the region.

15.    Initial planning continues for the new network with high level costing being developed along with some initial engagement planning. An EOI process was completed in January 2024 with a total of 5 suppliers expressing an interest. This will form the basis of the next step, a formalized Request for Tender process.

16.    The development of a detailed business case is required.

17.    Desktop research and modelling has taken place on the CHB commuter express trial. Engagement and detailed planning is ongoing with CHBDC officers.

Decision-making process

18.    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 Regional Transport Programme March 2024 update.

 

Authored by:

Bryce Cullen

Transport Strategy & Policy Analyst

Mark Allan

Transport Manager

Approved by:

Katrina Brunton

Group Manager Policy & Regulation

 

 

Attachment/s

1

Transport TAG Programme tracker 15 March

 

 

  


Transport TAG Programme tracker 15 March

Attachment 1

 

PDF Creator



Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Regional Transport Committee

15 March 2024

Subject: NZTA Waka Kotahi Regional Relationships Director's update

 

Reason for report

1.       This item introduces the Waka Kotahi/NZTA Central Region Regional Relationships Director’s update by way of a presentation.

Decision-making process

2.       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 NZTA Waka Kotahi Regional Relationships Director’s update and presentation.

 

 

Authored by:

Linda Stewart

Waka Kotahi Director Regional Relationships – Central North Island

 

Approved by:

Katrina Brunton

Group Manager Policy & Regulation

 

 

Attachment/s

1

NZTA Waka Kotahi detailed March 2024 update

 

 

2

NZTA Waka Kotahi March 2024 presentation

 

 

  


NZTA Waka Kotahi detailed March 2024 update

Attachment 1

 













NZTA Waka Kotahi March 2024 presentation

Attachment 2