Agenda of Regional Transport Committee - Thursday, 3 December 2020

Regional Transport Committee

Membership

Chairperson (BOPRC)	Cr Lyall Thurston
Deputy Chairperson (BOPRC)	Cr Jane Nees Cr Norm Bruning (Alternate)
Members
Kawerau District Council	Mayor Malcolm Campbell Deputy Mayor Faylene Tunui (Alternate)
Ōpōtiki District Council	Mayor Lyn Riesterer Cr David Moore (Alternate)
Rotorua Lakes Council	Mayor Steve Chadwick Deputy Mayor David Donaldson (Alternate)
Tauranga City Council	Deputy Mayor Tina Salisbury Cr Larry Baldock (Alternate)
Western Bay of Plenty District Council	Mayor Garry Webber Deputy Mayor John Scrimgeour (Alternate)
Whakatāne District Council	Mayor Judy Turner Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles (Alternate)
External Members
New Zealand Transport Agency Alternate member to be nominated by NZTA appointed member	Steve Mutton – Director Regional Relationships
External Advisors
Environmental Sustainability Advisor	Glen Crowther
Freight Advisor	John Galbraith
Road Safety Advisor	Inspector Brent Crowe – Roading Police Manager
Port Advisor	Dan Kneebone – Property and Infrastructure Manager
Ex Officio	Chairman Doug Leeder
Quorum	Five members, consisting of more than half the number of members
Frequency	Quarterly

Purpose

Section 105(1) of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 requires every regional council to establish a Regional Transport Committee for its region.

Role

· Prepare a regional land transport plan, or any significant variation to the plan, for the approval of the Regional Council.

· Approve any non-significant variation to the regional land transport plan.

· Adopt a policy that determines significance in respect of:

§ variations made to regional land transport plans under section 18D of the Land Transport Management Act 2003; and

§ the activities that are included in the regional land transport plan under section 16 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

· Monitor implementation of the regional land transport plan.

· Make recommendations in support of land transport activities that are eligible for national funding and align with the regional land transport plan.

· Co-ordinate, integrate and adopt regional transport and land-use strategies and plans
e.g. sub-regional spatial plans.

· Provide advocacy on strategic regional and inter-regional transport matters to Central Government and other key stakeholders as appropriate.

· Provide the Regional Council with any advice and assistance the Regional Council may request in relation to its transport responsibilities.

· Approve submissions to Central Government, local authorities and other agencies on Regional Transport Committee matters.

· Monitor and provide advocacy on regional road safety matters.

Committee Procedures

· Membership consists of two representatives of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the Mayor of each territorial authority in the region and a representative of the New Zealand Transport Agency.

· In the case of an equality of votes, the chair, or any other person presiding the meeting does not have a casting vote (and therefore the act or question is defeated and the status quo is preserved).

· The Regional Transport Committee may appoint external advisors to assist it in the exercise of its specific responsibilities and delegated authority. For the purposes of clarity, external advisors may be given full speaking rights at the discretion of the committee, but are not entitled to vote on committee matters.

· Under the Local Government Act 2002, the Regional Transport Committee is not defined as a joint committee however, the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 concerning the meetings of committees of regional councils, so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply in respect of meetings of the Regional Transport Committee.

Power to Act

To make all decisions necessary to fulfil the role and scope of the committee subject to the limitations imposed.

Power to Recommend

The Regional Transport Committee recommends and reports to the Regional Council.

Regional Transport Committee Minutes

7 August 2020

Regional Transport Committee

Open Minutes

Commencing: Friday 7 August 2020, 9.30 am

Venue: Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

Chairperson: Cr Lyall Thurston

Deputy Chairperson: Cr Jane Nees

Members: Cr Larry Baldock (Alternate)

Mayor Malcolm Campbell

Mayor Steve Chadwick

Deputy Mayor David Donaldson (Alternate)

Cr David Moore (Alternate)

Steve Mutton

Deputy Mayor Faylene Tunui (Alternate)

Mayor Garry Webber

Councillors: Cr David Love – Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana, Cr Stacey Rose – Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana, Cr Gavin Dennis – Whakatāne District Council

In Attendance: Inspector Brent Crowe – Road Safety Advisor, Dan Kneebone – Port Advisor, Glen Crowther – Environmental Sustainability Advisor, John Galbraith – Freight Advisor, Glen Crowther – Environmental Sustainability Advisor, Natalie van Rossen – Waka Kotahi NZTA, Cole O’Keefe – Waka Kotahi NZTA

Bay of Plenty Regional Council: Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy and Science, Annika Lane – Acting Regional Development Manager, Rachel Pinn - -Contractor, Bron Healey – Principal Advisor, Regional Development, Amanda Namana – Committee Advisor

Apologies: Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles (Alternate) – Whakatāne District Council, Mayor Tenby Powell – Tauranga City Council, Mayor Lyn Riesterer – Ōpōtiki District Council, Mayor Judy Turner – Whakatāne District Council, Chairman Leeder (ex-officio) – Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana

1. Apologies

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Accepts the apologies from Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles (Alternate), Mayor Tenby Powell, Mayor Lyn Riesterer, Mayor Judy Turner and Chairman Doug Leeder tendered at the meeting.

Thurston/Webber

CARRIED

2. Public Forum

2.1

Carole Gordon – CG Consulting

Presentation - Public Forum: Carole Gordon - Planning for Tomorrow Today: Objective ID A3600146

Key Point - Members:

· Congratulated Carole Gordon for receiving the Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit award (MNZM).

Key Point - Staff

· The themes raised by Carole Gordon would be considered and discussed under agenda item 7.3 Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 – Strategic Framework and Development Process.

Items for Staff Follow Up:

· Staff will review how to emphasise accessibility further within the Regional Land Transport Plan provisions.

2.2

Terry Molloy

Key Points:

· Outlined the benefits of road pricing:

o Encouraged better use of transport systems

o Saving benefits would come from a reduced demand for infrastructure and a more efficient transport system with less congested corridors

· The fuel tax would need to be removed to make road pricing viable

· Vehicles would be charged by kilometres travelled and the time taken to do so, with the basic charge being equivalent to the current fuel tax

· Each vehicle would have a basic monitor and GPS to tell them what road they were on and the cost involved. This would be linked to a national system and service stations which was how consumers would pay for this (at the pump)

· Electric vehicles could have a system similar to how we currently pay tolls

· There were set up costs but potential cost savings with a more efficient network.

Key Point - Members:

· Although the Committee was not able to directly influence this initiative, the Ministry of Transport was looking at the funding of the transport network with acceleration of the move to electric cars.

In Response to Questions:

· New technology meant that ‘pay at the pump’ was a potential option for payment

· Terry Molloy would appreciate the opportunity to become an advisor to the Committee in the capacity of the Automobile Association to attend and contribute to meetings.

3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

Nil

4. Minutes

Minutes to be Confirmed

4.1

Regional Transport Committee Minutes - 8 May 2020

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Confirms the Regional Transport Committee Minutes - 8 May 2020 as a true and correct record.

Campbell/Webber

CARRIED

5. Reports

5.1

Chairperson's Report

Chairperson Lyall Thurston presented this item.

Key Point - Members:

· Including future reports on National Policy Context would not be necessary.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report.

Webber/Nees

CARRIED

5.2

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Update

Presentation - Waka Kotahi NZTA Update: Objective ID A3598904

Director Regional Relationships Steve Mutton presented this item, supported by Principal Planning Advisor Cole O’Keefe.

Key Points - Members:

· Acknowledged the efforts of Waka Kotahi NZTA in changing business processes and upgrading the standard of support to the Committee and to the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP)

· Expressed concern over delays in receiving information and the impact this had on timeframes

· To achieve significant transport emission reductions, the RLTP’s of Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regional Councils needed to be aligned in relation to rail.

In Response to Questions

· The relationship with KiwiRail was stronger and as rail was now an Activity Class within the Government Policy Statement (GPS), it was more closely linked with the focus on corridors, mode neutrality and how to best move people and freight

· There was value in adding greater strength to the RLTP rail proposals

· Discussions were still underway with KiwiRail regarding Regional Transport Committee representation

· There was a rail network investment proposal that would flow through to the RLTP, for which timeframes were still being confirmed.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Update.

Mutton/Chadwick

CARRIED

10.37 am – the meeting adjourned.

10.50 am – the meeting resumed.

Decisions Required:

5.3

Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 - Strategic Framework and Development Process

Presentation - RLTP 2021 - Vision, Problems, benefits and objectives: Objective ID A3600120

Contractor Rachel Pinn, Principal Advisor Regional Development Bron Healey and Acting Regional Development Manager Annika Lane presented this item.

Key Points - Members:

· Maintaining the integrity of the Auckland-Rotorua rail line could be beneficial for a tourism link

· Important to be mindful that this was a competitive bid being put in to a national land transport fund

· All four well-beings should be outlined in the Benefit Statements

Key Point - Staff:

· The Transport Team would capture the direction provided and update the relevant provisions to provide a finalised draft to the Committee before being released for consultation.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 - Strategic Framework and Development Process;

2 Confirms the direction provided at the 24 June 2020 workshop in relation to the vision, benefit and problem statements, objectives and ten-year transport investment priorities;

3 Notes the development of the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 is subject to the release of central government policy which will have implications for the timing of consultation on the draft plan.

Webber/Campbell

CARRIED

5.4

Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 - Funding and Prioritisation Process

Presentation - RLTP 2021 - Funding and Prioritisation: Objective ID A3600122

Contractor Rachel Pinn presented this item.

Key Point:

· A workshop to review this had been scheduled for 28 October 2020.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 - Funding and Prioritisation Process;

2 Adopts the nationally consistent approach developed by the Local Government NZ Transport Special Interest Group in conjunction with Waka Kotahi as the basis for prioritising significant activities in the draft RLTP 2021.

Nees/Baldock

CARRIED

Information Only:

5.5

Regional Land Transport Plan - Implementation Report

Principal Advisor Regional Development Bron Healey presented this item.

Key Points - Members:

· Scope, time and cost should be included in the report

· Rotorua Lakes Council was spending against their targets and there were now 30km of cycleways and an 81 % increase in cycling.

In Response to Questions

· New infrastructure projects would likely be in the plan currently being developed

· Any cycleway funding still available nationally for this financial year would come down to project readiness.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Regional Land Transport Plan - Implementation Report.

Thurston/Webber

CARRIED

5.6

Bay of Plenty Mode Shift Plan

Natalie van Rossen and Cole O’Keefe from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Contractor Janeane Joyce presented this item.

Key Points:

· The Mode Shift Plan included a regional component before focusing on the Sub-Regions, starting with the Western Bay of Plenty then Rotorua, before moving to the Eastern Bay of Plenty at the start of 2021

· Next steps – the document would be signed off internally by Waka Kotahi and regular updates would be provided to the Transport Minister.

In Response to Questions:

· This was a guiding document encapturing all modes, as well as a tactical document for the partners to illustrate Waka Kotahi’s commitment to achieving mode shift

· It would guide the Regional Public Transport Plan, the RLTP and other strategic documents

· The Mode Shift Plan was a live document that would be updated over time with feedback received.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the draft report, Bay of Plenty Mode Shift Plan;

2 Endorses the direction of the Bay of Plenty Mode Shift Plan regional framework and Western Bay of Plenty section;

3 Notes the development of the Rotorua Lakes section of the Plan by December 2020 and Eastern Bay of Plenty section by early 2021;

4 Notes the Public Transport Committee Workshop for the Bay of Plenty Mode Shift Plan to be held following the meeting on 27 August 2020.

Webber/Nees

CARRIED

5.7

Verbal Update from Committee Members and Advisors

Cr Gavin Dennis on behalf of Whakatāne District Council

Key Points:

· Whakatāne District Council’s access programme investigating current and future traffic movements into and through Whakatāne was progressing well

· Walking and cycling strategy ‘Active Whakatāne’ was nearing completion

· Seeking support for partnership with BOPRC in development of regional cycle trail infrastructure across the district, including Kawerau to Rotorua

· Updated projects including Kia Kaha Covid-19 project

· Wainui Road safety improvements were well underway

· Eastern Bay Road Safety Committee was disestablished and another group would be established consisting of governance and operations representatives.

Mayor Malcolm Campbell - Kawerau District Council

Key Points:

· State Highway 34 Kawerau speed restrictions were becoming more urgent with industrial projects starting to take place

· Expressed full support for any projects involving cycleways.

Cr Larry Baldock – Tauranga City Council

Key Points:

· Ngatai Road cycleway project had been opened

· Ferry investigation was looking promising for Ōmokoroa to Tauranga to the Mount ferry service.

John Galbraith – Freight Advisor

Key Point:

· Noted that the Kawerau centre for driver training was fully occupied and a large number of short courses were being run as well as outpost training in Ōpōtiki and Murupara.

Mayor Steve Chadwick – Rotorua Lakes Council

Key Points:

· One of the destination making features underpinning the four well-beings was the value of a cycleway network for visitors both local and from abroad to enjoy a network of on-road and off-road cycleways

· The contract for bus shelters had been signed off

· Reinforced the need for a tourism rail link

· Supported random drug testing to address the influence of drivers under the influence on the roads.

Mayor Garry Webber – Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Key Points:

· Supported cycleway networks as being part of a regional effort

· Addressed the issue of traffic in Katikati and the necessity to find a solution.

Dan Kneebone – Port of Tauranga Advisor

Key Points:

· The most significant impact post Covid-19 had been the absence of cruise ships, which would be noticed more significantly over the summer period

· Freight flows in Totara Street continued to be a major issue that the Port was still advocating prioritisation for

· Had achieved a 15% carbon reduction.

Cr Jane Nees – Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana

Key Point:

· Staff were working on a regional workshop on climate change around the different approaches each district was taking in their climate change plans with the intention of gaining a collaborative view and approach for the region.

12.07 pm – the meeting closed.

Confirmed

Cr Lyall Thurston

Chairperson, Regional Transport Committee



Report To:	Regional Transport Committee
Meeting Date:	3 December 2020
Report Authoriser:	Namouta Poutasi

Chairperson's Report

Executive Summary

This report highlights matters of interest that the Committee Chair considers to be of relevance to the business of the Committee. The report includes an update on the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, the Waka Kotahi Investment Prioritisation Methodology, the Upper North Island Statement for the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021, and regional road safety group updates.

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report.

1. Purpose

This report highlights matters of interest that the Committee Chair considers to be of relevance to the business of the Committee.

2. Matters of Potential Interest

2.1 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport

The Government released the final Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021/22 – 2030/31 (the GPS) on 17 September 2020. The RTC submitted on the draft GPS on 11 May 2020.

The majority of submitters were supportive of the draft GPS. Generally, groups representing motorists were concerned about the move towards non-road investment and many other submitters identified alternatives to car use as a high priority.

The foreword from the then Minister of Transport, Hon. Phil Twyford, sets out four big challenges: preventing deaths and serious injuries, decarbonisation, better transport choices for New Zealanders and improving freight connections. As there has been no significant changes to the GPS, our draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 objectives and ten year transport priorities remain well aligned.

The GPS indicators have been expanded to report on pedestrian and cyclist injuries and mode share for children travelling to school. Use of specialist services, for example, total mobility, SuperGold boardings and network kilometres of walking and cycling facilities have been included in the final GPS.

The final GPS retains the three principles for investing (Sec 3.2) as alignment to Strategic direction, effectiveness and efficiency. The overall NLTP annual funding quantum for years 2021 to 2027 has remained the same as the draft GPS (Sec 3.3)

Key differences between the draft and final GPS are small changes to some of the activity class funding ranges:

· Increased funding for State Highway maintenance ($100m);

· Increased funding for walking and cycling infrastructure ($35m);

· Increased funding for investment management ($5m);

· Increased funding for rail network ($50m); and

· Decreased funding for State Highway improvements ($200m off the lower end of the band).

There has been additional financial information inserted in the section under Crown funding for Land Transport (Sec 3.6) outlining other committed land transport Crown funding. There is also a new diagram inserted which illustrates the relationship between the GPS and other Crown funded investment (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Relationship between GPS and other Crown-funded transport investments

New text has been inserted into the Statement of Ministerial Expectations (Sec 3.7). This sets out Waka Kotahi having a greater role in long term integrated planning and working closely with KiwiRail, Ministry Of Transport, Auckland Transport, Auckland Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council to develop Rail Network Investment Programme and implementing the new planning and funding framework for rail.

2.2 Waka Kotahi Investment Prioritisation Methodology

Waka Kotahi released their draft Investment Prioritisation Methodology (IPM) on 21 September 2020. The draft IPM has been developed in response to the GPS and will be used to prioritise activities in the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme. Once finalised, it will replace the existing Investment Assessment Framework.

The IPM was discussed at the Regional Advisory Group (RAG) meeting on the 15^th of October and this information was fed into the Transport Special Interest Group (TSIG) submission.

The TSIG recommended noted the following in its submission:

· Enabling a stronger link between regional priorities and investment by taking into consideration the RLTP priority order for activities sitting within the same NLTP priority order.

· The IPM proposes to only take into consideration the RLTP priority where activities are on the threshold of funding.

· Expressed a general concern that the proposed IPM may be misaligned with the GPS emphasis on mode shift due to the measures being used.

· The submission also identifies a misalignment between the three principles for investing and the IPM. The IPM uses scheduling in place of effectiveness.

2.3 Upper North Island Statement in Regional Land Transport Plans

In the previous round of Regional Land Transport Plans (2018 RLTPs), Upper North Island (UNI) regions worked together to produce a consistent UNI statement for inclusion in each region's RLTP. At the 7 August 2020 UNISA meeting, Mayors and Chairs endorsed a continuation of that approach for the new RLTPs that are currently under development. UNISA officers have now begun to co-ordinate that statement in conjunction with the team’s leading RLTP development in each region. Once a draft statement has been prepared it will be reported back to UNISA Mayors and Chairs, and shared with Upper North Island Regional Transport Committees for consideration in their draft RLTPs.

2.4 Regional road safety group updates

The following provides an update from each of the regional road safety groups – Rotorua, Eastern and Western Bay.

The Eastern Bay Road Safety Programme’s Committee has been disestablished and the Operations Group has met to develop a Terms of Reference. This is currently being worked on through the Councils. Activities during the year included the delivery of cycle training in schools (Bike Ready) to 527 students, a ‘Share with Care’ campaign reminding pathway users to share the space; and a School Active Transport count has been implemented in seven schools across the Eastern Bay. Forthcoming activities include a 2-day marae based Alcohol and Drug Impairment Education Programme.

The Rotorua Safe and Sustainable Journeys Team continues to deliver its road safety programme with initiatives targeting youth and senior drivers. There has been an increased uptake of the Bike Ready cycling skills school programme. Work continues alongside Waka Kotahi and Regional Council on the Regional Mode Shift Plan and Rotorua Public Transport Review with a focus on delivering initiatives that support mode shift.

Across the western Bay of Plenty, the Young Driver workshops were held in July and October, and Age Concern has continued to hold full driver education workshops. Kids Can Ride Bike Ready sessions continue to be well attended. Next year we will be promoting the Aotearoa Bike Challenge with local workplaces to support uptake.



Report To:	Regional Transport Committee
Meeting Date:	3 December 2020
Report Writer:	Andrew Williams, Transport Planner and Amanda Namana, Committee Advisor
Report Authoriser:	Namouta Poutasi, General Manager, Strategy & Science Yvonne Tatton, Governance Manager
Purpose:	To consider a request from the New Zealand Automobile Association to appoint an external advisor to the Regional Transport Committee.

Appointment of an External Advisor

Executive Summary

The Regional Transport Committee Terms of Reference allow for the appointment of external advisors to assist with Committee business. The New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) has made a request to include a member as an external advisor to the Regional Transport Committee.

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Appointment of an External Advisor;

2 Considers the opportunity to appoint a member of the New Zealand Automobile Association as an external advisor to the Regional Transport Committee.

1. Background

The Regional Transport Committee (RTC) terms of reference allow for the appointment of external advisors to assist with Committee business. External advisors have full speaking rights but are not entitled to vote on Committee matters.

At the start of the triennium, the RTC reconfirmed the appointments of Inspector Brent Crowe (Bay of Plenty Road Policing Manager) as a road safety advisor, John Galbraith (Freight Logistics Action Group) as a freight advisor, Dan Kneebone (Property and Infrastructure Manager) as a port advisor and Glen Crowther as an environmental sustainability advisor.

The RTC now have an opportunity to consider appointing an NZAA representative as an additional external advisor.

2. Statutory requirements

Section 105(2) of the Land Transport Management Act (LTMA) prescribes the membership requirements for regional transport committees, being:

· 2 persons to represent the regional council;

· 1 person from each territorial authority in the region to represent that territorial authority; and

· 1 person to represent Waka Kotahi.

At the time the membership requirements were enacted, regional councils sought advice on whether they precluded RTCs from appointing members in addition to those prescribed in the Act. The advice noted that while the LTMA does not include any provisions which would enable persons to be appointed to an RTC other than those prescribed in section 105(2), there was nothing to prevent an RTC from engaging other persons to provide it with specialist advice to assist with its decision making. The Bay of Plenty, and several other regions, subsequently initiated the practice of appointing one or more non-voting external advisors to their RTCs.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

The appointment of an external advisor from the NZAA opens a level of risk to the balance of the Committee.

Generally, the Committee has appointed advisors on a sector basis. However, the request from the NZAA is specific to an organisation that represents a specific mode – general motorists. Therefore, such an appointment would likely see the interests of general motorists’ increase which would conflict with current central government direction on land transport matters towards providing more transport options and focusing on modeshift. An appointment may also set a mode-based precedent for the appointment of advisors.

A balance needs to be struck within the Committee between advisors and members. Careful consideration will be needed regarding the appointment of an advisor from the NZAA as it is unlikely to support such a balance.

3.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

3.3 Implications for Māori

There are no obvious implications for Māori with respect to the appointment.

3.4 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required for this matter as the recommended proposal / decision relates to internal Council matters only.

3.5 Alignment with Strategic Framework

This item directly contributes to the Vibrant Region Community Outcome in the Council’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028.

3.6 Financial Implications

There are minor financial implications if the representative appointed requires meeting fees and reimbursements.

4. Next Steps

If the Committee approves the appointment, the NZAA will be contacted to confirm their representative.



Report To:	Regional Transport Committee
Meeting Date:	3 December 2020
Report Writer:	Andrew Williams, Transport Planner
Report Authoriser:	Namouta Poutasi, General Manager, Strategy & Science
Purpose:	To include a new activity - Rotorua Strategic Public Transport Review – to be added to the Regional Land Transport Plan 2018 by way of variation.

Regional Land Transport Plan Variation - Rotorua Public Transport Strategic Review

Executive Summary

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council request to include a new activity – Rotorua Strategic Public Transport Review – to be added to the Regional Land Transport Plan by way of variation. The scope is to develop a public transport focused Indicative Business Case.

The Regional Advisory Group has considered the variation request and recommends that it is approved by the Committee in accordance with its delegated authority.

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Regional Land Transport Plan Variation - Rotorua Public Transport Strategic Review.

2 Approves the proposed variation – Rotorua Public Transport Strategic Review – to be included in the Bay of Plenty Regional Land Transport Plan 2018.

3 Determines that the proposed variation is not significant for the purposes of public consultation.

1. Background

Section 18D of Land Transport Management Act enables the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) to prepare a variation to the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) if good reason exists for doing so. A variation may be prepared at the request of an approved organisation or Waka Kotahi. Public consultation is not required for any variation that is not significant; or arises from the declaration or revocation of a State Highway. The RTC has the delegated authority to approve non-significant variations to the RLTP.

2. Rotorua Public Transport Strategic Review

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) request to include a new activity – the Rotorua Strategic Public Transport Review – to be added to the RLTP by way of variation. It is proposed that the activity be undertaken with funding assistance from the National Land Transport Fund through the Investment Management (including transport planning) activity class.

The scope is to develop a public transport focused Indicative Business Case, which is expected to cover:

· Public transport services

· Identify if further investigation into Public Transport priority infrastructure is required

· Integration of public transport with active and micro-mobility modes

· Transport and land use policy that support the objectives

· Identify pathways for fleet electrification

· Other interventions that can reasonably be expected to help meet the project objectives and as determined by stakeholder and transport delivery agencies.

The review will also examine the role of on-demand bus services within the Rotorua urban area.

The full background to the variation request and assessment against the RLTP is included in the memo at Attachment 1.

At its 12 November 2020 meeting, the Regional Advisory Group has reviewed the evidence provided by BOPRC and is now recommending that the variation request be approved by the Committee in accordance with its delegated authority.

It is noted that a Rotorua Public Transport Review Update paper went to the Public Transport Committee meeting on 27 November 2020.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

There are no significant risks associated with this matter/subject/project/initiative.

3.2 Climate Change

Mitigation			Adaptation
Reduce GHG emissions	Produce GHG emissions	Sequester carbon	Anticipate climate change impacts	Respond to climate change impacts
☒	☐	☐	☐	☐

Improving the level of service for public transport in Rotorua will encourage mode-shift, reducing congestion and greenhouse gas and PM10 emissions.

3.3 Implications for Māori

Improving the level of service for public transport in Rotorua – an area with a higher proportion of Maori – will reduce issues of accessibility to essential services, and generally make it easier for Maori to travel within and around Rotorua.

3.4 Community Engagement

An assessment against the RLTPs significance policy is included with the memo at Attachment 1. In summary, it notes that the variation request is has an estimated cost of $50k to develop the Indicative Business Case. This is under the $20M significance policy threshold within the RLTP, and therefore, public consultation is not required.

3.5 Alignment with Strategic Framework

This item directly contributes to the Vibrant Region Community Outcome in the Council’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028.

3.6 Financial Implications

Future reporting on RLTP variations is provided for in the Regional Council’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028. It is proposed that the activity be undertaken with funding assistance from the National Land Transport Fund through the Investment Management (including transport planning) activity class.

4. Next Steps

The next steps, as noted in the Rotorua Public Transport Review Update paper that went to the Public Transport Committee meeting on 27 November 2020 are to:

· Finalise and approve a public consultation plan

· Undertake public consultation

· Identify a preferred option

· Bay of Plenty Regional Council to make investment decision

· Finalise business case for Waka Kotahi investment decision.

Direction from Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Long Term Plan workshops in October 2020 is to undertake consultation as part of the Annual Plan 2022/23. This is likely to take place in approximately 14 months’ time with earliest delivery of improvements in late 2022.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Rotorua Strategic PT Review - Request for inclusion in 2018 RLTP ⇩



Report To:	Regional Transport Committee
Meeting Date:	3 December 2020
Report Writer:	Andrew Williams, Transport Planner
Report Authoriser:	Namouta Poutasi, General Manager, Strategy & Science
Purpose:	To present the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) Annual Report Card 2019/20.

Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card 2019/20

Executive Summary

The Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card monitors regional transport trends and measures progress towards achieving the objectives of the Plan. The Annual Report Card informs the Committee on key regional land transport trends and their implications.

This year’s Annual Report Card has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in two ways. Firstly, national data was not collected that the report card relies on to communicate some key performance indicators. Secondly, some measures illustrate, in comparison to previous year, outlying results due to reduced mobility and movement during the period of national lock-down earlier this year.

The report card is appended to this report.

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1 Receives the report, Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card 2019/20.

1. Background

Monitoring is an important part of measuring progress in implementing a plan, and assessing the effectiveness of the policies and activities it contains. Monitoring provides the information necessary to complete the policy cycle (Figure 1).

The Land Transport Management Act (LTMA) requires Regional Land Transport Plans (RLTPs) to include a description of how monitoring will be undertaken to assess implementation of the plan. To meet this requirement, the Bay of Plenty RLTP 2018 includes a commitment to undertake annual reporting of key performance indicators (KPIs) in order to measure progress towards achieving the RLTP objectives.

Importantly, the RLTP encompasses the activities of all organisations in the region with statutory responsibilities for land transport, the KPIs within it cover the full range of land transport modes and outcomes, not just those of an individual organisation. Several other regions currently take a similar approach to the Bay of Plenty in terms monitoring their RLTPs. In order to meet the monitoring requirements of the LTMA, data is collated from a variety of sources to produce an Annual Report Card.

Figure 1: Simplified policy cycle

2. Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card 2019/20

The RLTP Annual Report Card 2019/20 is appended to this report at Appendix 1. It includes the transport demand indicators reported in previous years, as well as information on the current 27 KPIs that have targets in the RLTP 2018. The Annual Report Card covers the second year of the RLTP 2018 for the 2019/20 financial year.

The Annual Report Card illustrates that of the 27 RLTP KPIs, 7 have been met or partially met, 9 have not been met, and there is no or insufficient data available for 11 indicators. The reason for the higher than usual KPIs with insufficient data is largely a result of COVID-19 resourcing issues, notably, the Ministry of Transport’s New Zealand Household Travel Survey (NZHTS) was not completed which resulted in five KPIs unable to be reported on for the year.

Taking into account the information in the Report Card, an overall assessment against the RLTP objective statements is illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Assessment of progress

Some of the key messages that can be drawn from the data are:

· The COVID-19 lockdown had an impact on export and rail freight volumes, and fuel consumption.

· Economic and urban growth is continuing to fuel transport demand.

· There are more vehicles and heavy vehicles on the roads.

· Deaths and serious injuries continue to fluctuate and there is no sustained improvement in the region’s road safety record. Serious injuries rose to the worst level since 2007.

· High risk behaviours (alcohol, drugs and speed) continue to contribute to a high proportion of death and serious injury crashes.

· Transport emissions were reduced and there has been further uptake of electric vehicles.

The Regional Council does not collect much of the data itself, and is instead reliant on other organisations to collect it as part of their own monitoring systems. This means that changes to other organisations’ data collection methods impacts on the ability to report on KPIs in the RLTP. Regional Council staff are working with partner organisations through the Bay of Plenty Regional Advisory Group to fill the current gaps in data collection.

Staff are working on KPIs for the RLTP 2021 which will also contain ‘headline targets’ that align with the agreed objectives. These are included in the draft RLTP 2021 as part of the agenda.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

A key risk for reporting on the progress is the ability to rely on data sources. The impacts of COVID-19 were unforeseen, however, and as noted, Regional Council staff are working with partner organisations through the Bay of Plenty Regional Advisory Group to fill the current gaps in data collection. These mitigation measures are also being considered through the development of KPIs and headline targets for the RLTP 2021.

3.2 Climate Change

The region currently does not have a transport emissions target but this is likely to be corrected when the current RLTP is replaced in June 2021. A new data source, collected and administered by Waka Kotahi, is likely to support a headline target that will aim to reduce carbon emissions from the region’s transport sector.

3.3 Implications for Māori

Maori are not directly impacted by the release of the Annual Report Card 2019/20.

3.4 Community Engagement

INFORM

Whakamōhio

To provide affected communities with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problems, alternatives and/or solutions.

The Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card monitors regional transport trends and measures progress towards achieving RLTP objectives. The report card is made available online to inform the public.

3.5 Alignment with Strategic Framework

This item directly contributes to the Vibrant Region Community Outcome in the Council’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028.

3.6 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

Ongoing work to review RLTP KPIs and improve access to data sources will continue at the national level through the work of the Local Government New Zealand Regional Sector Transport Special Interest Group (TSIG) and regionally, through the development of RLTP 2021 alongside our partners.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - 20.11.2020 Draft Regional Land Transport Plan Annual Report Card 2019-20 ⇩