Open Minutes
Commencing: Thursday 22 September 2022, 9.30 am
Venue: Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga and via Zoom (Audio Visual meeting)
Chairperson: Cr Andrew von Dadelszen – Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana (BOPRC)
Deputy Chairperson: Cr Lyall Thurston – BOPRC (via Zoom)
In Attendance: Cr David Love, Cr Matemoana McDonald (via Zoom), Greg Campbell – Acting Transport Director, Presenters – as listed in the minutes, Amanda Namana – Committee Advisor
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Accepts the apologies from Mayor Webber, Cr Stacey Rose (early departure) and Jess Andrew tendered at the meeting. CARRIED |
3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
None declared.
Minutes to be Confirmed
|
Public Transport Committee Minutes - 23 June 2022 |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Confirms the Public Transport Committee Minutes - 23 June 2022 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
|
Assessing Public Bus Services Tabled Document 1 - Verbal presentation on assessing the public bus service: Objective ID A4216687 ⇨ Tabled Document 2 - Tauranga Bus Service Satisfaction Snapshot: Objective ID A4216688 ⇨ Tabled Document 3 - Guidelines for Quality of Bus Service: Objective ID A4216689 ⇨ Tabled Document 4 - Bus service six-monthly review template: Objective ID A4216690 ⇨ Kirsty Slater presented this item, supported by Gareth Griffiths - CCS Disability Action. |
|
|
|
· Presented the tabled documents and outlined the purpose of the initiative to monitor bus services locally · Acknowledged accessibility improvements of the bus service in recent years · It was important from the perspective of people with vision impairment and learning disabilities that council understand their experiences in the community · Had been a Tauranga resident and used the public transport system for 10-15 years · On some occasions bus drivers had been rude or unkind, whilst others went out of their way to be helpful · Kirsty had been Chair of People First Tauranga group for four years · Felt that overall the bus service was good, but there were several areas for improvement · Learning new bus routes was difficult, even more so when vision impaired · Kirsty needed to use a walking frame at times, which provided further mobility barriers when using the bus service · Considered that bus drivers needed to be better educated about the needs of people with disabilities and how to assist them · Audible announcements at bus stops were very helpful, although some did not work and vandalism of the one at Bayfair was particularly frustrating as it served a genuine need for many people · Commended the Bee Card system and the free fares accessibility concession · The survey also sought to identify specific issues e.g. bus drivers requiring training, buses not stopping close enough to kerb (creating additional difficulty to embark). Key Points - Members: · Commended the presentation and the useful feedback provided to the Committee. In Response to Questions: · Although Kirsty sometimes required a support person whilst travelling on buses, she was encouraged to get out independently as much as possible. Staff - In Response to Questions: · Welcomed feedback from the surveys and considered they would provide important insights · Staff were working with Waka Kotahi seeking co-funding for extending audible announcements at bus stops.
|
|
9:49 am - Cr Rose withdrew from the meeting. |
|
|
Chairperson's Report Acting Transport Director Greg Campbell, Team Leader – Transport and Urban Strategy Lorraine Cheyne, Team Leader – Service Planning and Project Delivery Oliver Haycock and Interim Transport Operations Manager Chris Brewer presented this item. Key Points: · The Chair commended the work of staff and the data collection available as a result of the Bee Card system · Highlighted the new Sustainable Public Transport Framework being rolled out by central government and the future opportunities it would provide · Driver shortages continued to be a significant problem nationwide - this was now an acute issue for the region and threatened even the currently reduced timetable · The Waka Kotahi Transport Choices package preference leaned strongly toward infrastructure investment, rather than funding of services · If additional funding could be achieved for the Rotorua Network Refresh, the timeline could be brought forward · The Public Transport Services and Infrastructure Business Case funding partners were BOPRC, Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi. There was also a project steering group which included the funding partners, mana whenua and Western Bay of Plenty District Council · Public transport fares, parking and wider behaviour change were not within the scope of the business case. There were separate pieces of work being undertaken in these areas and once completed the business case would be cognisant of recommendations from these · The business case was viewed as a model which could grow and be shaped with the wider city and sub-regions as they progressed. Key Points - Members: · Park and rides needed to be advanced as soon as possible as they were particularly crucial to people in rural areas who were unable to access public transport · Expressed concern over a lack of Eastern Bay of Plenty focus · Tauranga City Council were interested in park and ride facilities but noted the importance of having certainty around the permanence of routes to ensure any investment was successful · Further engagement with the public on the Rotorua Network Refresh was critical to making people were aware of the changes to fares and routes. In Response to Questions: · The business case would explore the potential benefits of park and ride facilities and how they may assist getting more people using public transport · There was a national policy issue for park and ride facilities as they were not viewed favourably and would need wider support · The change of ownership for NZ Bus did not affect existing contracts · The work undertaken thus far on the business case had been high level and there was an extensive consultation element within the next stage (single stage business case) · There had been a strong response from public consultation for the Rotorua Network Refresh and the feedback was being incorporated as much as possible. There were infrastructure challenges that needed to be resolved before moving forward · The bus decarbonisation study underway looked at all viable technologies and options to assist in achieving zero emissions in the region. |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report. CARRIED |
Decisions Required
|
Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-32 Principal Advisor, Regional Development Bron Healey presented this item, introduced by Acting Transport Director Greg Campbell. Key Points: · High quality and high energy submissions had been received, calling for boldness and higher aspiration · The essence of the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) was connecting the region, more access and less carbon · Outlined the recommendations and noted that recommendations 4 and 5 to Council had implications for funding levels set in the Long Term Plan.
Key Points - Members: · Commended staff for the work undertaken and support of the Hearings Subcommittee · The RPTP addressed submissions requesting transformational change, to be bold, innovative, more aspirational and customer focused · Minor amendments requested: o Be clear whether the target for mode share in relation to main urban areas included Whakatāne. Clarify whether this target was for total mode share, morning peak times or other specificity · Considered planning for the Eastern Bay of Plenty needed to be more specific with measurable outcomes in the next RPTP. Suggested an additional Eastern Bay of Plenty member be appointed to the Committee in the new triennium · Noted that the Hearings Subcommittee had held robust conversations about the aspirational 20% target for mode shift. This was a significant challenge which would require new ways of delivering services e.g. on-demand, strong customer focus, policy changes in how road use was paid for · Agreed the importance of inter-regional travel as well as urban travel and would like to see a network link between Rotorua and Whakatāne.
In Response to Questions: · ‘Changing mode share to 20%’ was the target reference from the Regional Land Transport Plan (pre-existing plan), as opposed to ‘increase by 20%’ in the RPTP. There was work to be undertaken to align targets sub-regionally with what was occurring nationally · Rotorua and Tauranga were the main urban areas as this was where the main urban networks were located.
|
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Receives the report, Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-32; 2 Approves the Regional Public Transport Plan Hearing Subcommittee’s recommendations on the draft Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-2032 as summarised in the report; 3 Notes the following additional recommendations from the Regional Public Transport Plan Hearing Subcommittee: (a) That the Public Transport Committee makes a recommendation to the Regional Council to consider investigating potential co-investment opportunities in public transport infrastructure with the region’s territorial local authorities; and (b) That the Public Transport Committee makes a recommendation to the Regional Council to consider continuing the Extension of SuperGold Concession beyond the current trial end date; 4 Endorses the Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-2032 in Attachment 1 including any amendments arising from discussion of the report; 5 Delegates to the Chief Executive the authority to make minor changes to the draft Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-2032 prior to its approval by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. CARRIED |
10.41 am – The meeting adjourned.
10.58 am – The meeting reconvened.
Information Only
|
Highlights of the Triennium Acting Transport Director Greg Campbell presented this item. Key Points: · The Chair commended the work of staff, the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee and the collaboration with Tauranga City Council at an operational level · Acknowledged the work of the Committee and staff in continuing services throughout the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Receives the report, Highlights of the Triennium. CARRIED |
|
Public Transport Arotake Tuawha - Performance Monitoring Report 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 Presentation: Public Transport Arotake Tuawha 2021/2022 Patronage Insights: Objective ID A4216583 ⇨ Interim Transport Operations Manager Chris Brewer presented this item. Key Points of Presentation: · Financial Performance – Operating Revenue and Operating Expenditure at the end of quarter four · Patronage Summary across the Bay of Plenty – tracking close to regional trends · Across the region – number of trips taken in Tauranga (urban and schools), Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty · Other highlights: o Half price fares initiative extended until January 2023, followed immediately by the implementation of the community connect programme on 1 February 2023 o School Fare Free trial for Rotorua and Whakatāne patronage increases · Customer Experience – transport calls received by the customer contact centre and average complaints per 10,000 boardings · Zendesk Support – tickets by type · Commended the customer contact team – 97% of all transport related tickets received were responded to and resolved without needing to be forwarded on for further investigation · Total Mobility and The Accessibility Concession increase in applications processed and trips taken. |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Receives the report, Public Transport Arotake Tuawha - Performance Monitoring Report 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. CARRIED |
|
Resolution to exclude the public 1 Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting as set out below: The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
CARRIED |
8. Consideration of Items not on the Agenda
|
Regional Public Transport Plan Hearings Subcommittee Minutes – 17 and 19 August 2022 |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Confirms the Regional Public Transport Plan Hearings Subcommittee Minutes – 17 and 19 August 2022 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
|
Regional Public Transport Plan Hearings Subcommittee Deliberations Minutes – 31 August 2022 |
|
|
|
That the Public Transport Committee: 1 Confirms the Regional Public Transport Plan Hearings Subcommittee Deliberations Minutes – 31 August 2022 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
11.51 am – the meeting closed.
|
|
Chairperson, Public Transport Committee
Fiona McTavish
Chief Executive - Bay of Plenty Regional Council