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Informal Workshop Notes
Public Transport Committee Workshop
Held: 9.30 am, Wednesday 24 May 2023, 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
Present: BOPRC: Cr Jane Nees; Cr Paula Thompson; Cr Malcolm Campbell
Whakatāne District Council (WDC): Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles; Cr Gavin Dennis (Alternate)
Tauranga City Council (TCC):
Commissioner Stephen Selwood
Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOPDC): Mayor James Denyer; Deputy Mayor John Scrimgeour (Alternate) via Zoom
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi): Sarah Roberts – Regional System Design Advisor (Alternate).
Non-Members in Attendance: Cr Kat Macmillan - BOPRC (via Zoom); Sarah Hiestand – Senior Transport Advisor, Waka Kotahi.
In Attendance: BOPRC: Mike Seabourne – Director, Public Transport; Oliver Haycock – Manager, Transport Planning; Bron Healey – Principal Advisor -Transport; Elaine Nolan – Transport Coordinator; Kim McFaddan – Communications Partner, Claudia Cameron – Committee Advisor
WDC: Joe Metcalfe – Transport Planner, WDC; .
An introduction was provided by Mike Seabourne – Director, Public Transport.
Key Points:
· There was a clear mandate through the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) to deliver public transport (PT) projects
· Guidance was sought on the prioritisation of resources and sequencing of project delivery
· Outlined the three teams within the Transport Team: Transport Operations, Transport Planning and Transport Programme Delivery
· Planning and preparation was required to meet the region’s future PT needs.
Key Points - Members:
· Noted an increase in intra-regional travel and the need for an integrated regional transport system
· Highlighted the need for funding/resource equity across the region.
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Public Transport Committee Strategic Issues Workshop Tabled Document 1 - BOPRC Transport Team Structure: Objective ID A4383031 ⇨ Tabled Document 2 - Prioritisation Activity - 24 May 2023: Objective ID A4388806 ⇨ Presented by: Bron Healey –
Principal Advisor, Transport |
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· Initial planning was underway for the Long Term Plan 2024-2034, noting there was increased competition for Waka Kotahi funding · Recognised the challenge of a growing city meeting vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) reduction targets – projects must consider this as well as mode shift · Challenges included: o Inflationary pressures o Changing Government policy on fares, and the upcoming replacement of the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) with the Sustainable Public Transport Framework (SPTF) o Increased ‘business as usual’ (BAU) for the team as networks grew in complexity o Contract renewal timelines o Competitive resource market, in particular for skilled network planners – noting collaborative partners were also facing a shortage of skilled planners.
10.27 am – the workshop adjourned. 10.34 am – the workshop reconvened. Mode Shift and Carbon Reduction: · Public transport service levels/infrastructure delivery o An increase in service levels was required. As there were currently no spare buses, service improvements required careful consideration o SPTF provided potential opportunities for investment into infrastructure and vehicle ownership o Community willingness for innovative change was apparent o There was a commitment to refresh the Eastern Bay of Plenty (EBOP) network, however no resources were currently allocated o Noted smaller bus purchase and operation was of a comparable cost to larger buses, patronage growth must be considered before committing to a fleet of smaller buses.
Guidance: § Suggested investigation into an additional contract with a smaller sized bus provider, to allow flexibility of bus size on certain routes § Requested a roadmap of key PT corridor upgrades and changes § An EBOP network refresh was supported.
· Zero emission public transport o Decarbonisation was in line with BOPRC values o Supported emission reduction trials conducted collaboratively under the facilitation of Waka Kotahi, not individual council by council trials.
Guidance: § Requested information be sought from Waka Kotahi around emissions trials currently underway nationally § Supported being ‘fast-followers’ in this space, as opposed to our region conducting a trial § Suggested the on-demand trial be electric vehicle based to demonstrate a shift towards zero emission PT.
· On demand public transport o The Tauranga trial was moving from planning to implementation o There would be minor savings to the fixed route service, but would not off-set the trial cost.
Guidance § Future extension was dependent on the outcome of the trial.
· Rapid Transit o Further resources would be required for rapid transit corridors if signalled as a priority o The Cameron Road Stage 2 Project prioritised buses via am/pm peak bus lanes, clear communication was needed o Planning had taken place via the Urban Form and Transport Initiative (UFTI) and the Transport System Plan (TSP), a programme of delivery from a technical perspective would be recommended via the Public Transport Service and Infrastructure Business Case o Highlighted the Greater Christchurch Rapid Transit project as a success story: https://www.greaterchristchurch.org.nz/assets/Documents/greaterchristchurch/Mass-Rapid-Transit/Greater-Christchurch-Mass-Rapid-Transit-Interim-Report-June-2021.pdf
Guidance: § Future proofing of PT rapid transit corridors was required via the spatial plan § Acknowledged that once planning was complete, it would be up to councils to implement.
· Passenger rail/ferries o Inter-regional rail was dependent on other councils’ willingness to collaborate – highlighted the ‘Making Rail Work’ initiative o The Ōmokoroa-Tauranga travel environment had changed since the Wednesday Challenge ferry trial, ferries may be seen as a more viable alternative now o Highlighted the reduced infrastructure required for ferries compared to rail o Suggested the current subsidy of buses between Ōmokoroa and Tauranga could also be applied to ferries.
Guidance: § Staff to follow up with adjacent councils to gauge appetite for rail § Supported an investigation into a ferry service. Public transport and land use: · Proactively planning for public transport and land use integration o Acknowledge the growth of the Western Bay and Rotorua subregions, PT services would be required to support these developments o Noted the two vacant staff positions within the Transport Spatial Planning team.
Guidance: § Transport spatial planning required a fit for purpose level of resource allocation. 11.57 am - Cr Paula Thompson withdrew from the workshop. Fares and pricing: · Fare Policy o There was a need to change the perception that PT was only for people unable to use private vehicles o Staff were awaiting further guidance from Central Government and Waka Kotahi around the implementation of the new free fares for children under 13 years.
Guidance: § Acknowledgement of fares and pricing as an operational issue once policy had been developed.
· Special event policy o Requests were received regularly for special event buses, and a policy statement/framework was required.
Guidance: § This was not seen as an urgent project. Service planning and design: · Network refreshes o Network refreshes required specialist network planning skills, current resources allowed only for the continual programme of consecutive refreshes; the planning stage caused a ‘bottle neck’ due to staff availability o Noted the ‘trade off’ in resources between spatial planning and network refreshes.
Guidance: § The network and refreshes should be prioritised § Suggested a collaboration between BOPRC and other councils’ planners and roading teams, to enable network refreshes to progress ahead of time – in particular the EBOP network refresh.
· School services (Tauranga) o Noted the potential unpopularity of reintegrating the school service into the main network, and that consultation would likely be required.
Guidance: § Care, clarity and time would be required if a change was to be made.
· Regional services o The core business should be conducted first.
Guidance: § Interregional bus travel was considered a commercial operation at this stage.
· Community services o Noted the Community Transport Forum.
Guidance: § Community services should be considered during network refreshes, with collaborative opportunities explored. |
3. Conclusion and Next Steps
Members were invited to prioritise the issues discussed – see Tabled Document 2 - Prioritisation Activity - 24 May 2023. Results of this activity and guidance provided would be reviewed by staff.
12.31 pm – the workshop closed.