Open Minutes
Commencing: Tuesday 5 December 2023, 2.30 pm
Venue: Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga
Chairperson: Cr Andrew von Dadelszen - Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana (BOPRC)
Deputy Chairperson: Commission Chair Anne Tolley – Tauranga City Council (TCC)
Members: Commissioner Stephen Selwood (TCC)
Jessica Andrew – NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
In Attendance: BOPRC: Cr Ron Scott; Cr Kat Macmillan (via Zoom); Oliver Haycock – Manager, Transport Planning; Matthew Kilpatrick – Senior Transport Planner; Stuart Nightingale – Manager, Transport Operations; Claudia Cameron – Committee Advisor.
TCC: Nic Johansson – General Manager, Infrastructure; Shawn Geard – Transport Technical Lead, City Centre Team; Craig Dunlop – Principal Investment Advisor.
Apologies: Cr Paula Thompson - BOPRC
Committee members and the public were reminded that the public section of the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded and that the recording would be available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council YouTube channel following the meeting.
Recording link: Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee Meeting - 5 December 2023 (youtube.com)
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Accepts the apology from Cr Paula Thompson for absence tendered at the meeting. CARRIED |
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Arataki Bus Facility Verbal Update |
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Accepts the late item, Arataki Bus Facility Verbal Update; 2 Notes that the reason the item is not on the agenda is that the information was not available until after the agenda was prepared, and an update was requested by Bay of Plenty Regional Council before the next scheduled meeting of this Committee; 3 Confirms this item will be heard in Public Excluded. CARRIED |
The late item, Arataki Bus Facility Verbal Update would be heard in Public Excluded.
4. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
None.
Minutes to be Confirmed
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Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee Minutes - 17 October 2023 |
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Confirms the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee Minutes - 17 October 2023 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
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Director's Update Presented by: Oliver Haycock – Manager, Transport Planning (BOPRC) |
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· There was some optimism the new Government may provide increased funding opportunities and it was seen as a positive that Simeon Brown was both the Minister for Transport and Local Government · Noted the Government’s intention to update the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport · Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) processes and general elections often coincided, staff would remain flexible and update Councillors on any challenges or opportunities · Staff had participated in a Regional Advisory Group to provide technical scoring and ranking of projects, which was to be presented to the Regional Transport Committee in December 2023. |
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Chairperson's Report Presented by: Stuart Nightingale - Manager, Transport Operations (BOPRC) and Oliver Haycock – Manager, Transport Planning (BOPRC) Key Points: · Funding from the Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was on hold until the direction of the new Government was clear · Aimed to implement aspects of the network refresh in 2024. Key Points - Members: · Noted the positive culture among the bus drivers. In Response to Questions: · On-demand trial: o 5 electric mini vans, 1 hot spare to support increased demand o The area included Pyes Pā/The Lakes/Tauriko/Hospital, and would complement not duplicate the fixed route network. The inability of large buses to negotiate the narrow streets of Pyes Pā had also been considered o If the area was too large wait times would increase o A ride would be requested via the app or call centre and patrons would ride share to the destination; the service was corner to corner with virtual bus stops o There would be an intensive public awareness campaign beginning four weeks prior to launch · Network Refresh Phase 2: o Network congestion lengthening journey times had caused the projected costs to increase by $3million, there was insufficient funding approved within this Annual Plan period o The Public Transport Committee had directed staff to continue to make incremental network improvements within the current budget · National Ticketing System (NTS): o Not expected before mid-2025 o Supported a variety of payment options including credit card and would provide more detailed data to assist with better transport planning o If more of the old ticketing machines were required before the roll out the options were to purchase (a large expense to install and zero re-sale value) or to operate with no ticket machines on those routes. |
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report. CARRIED |
Decisions Required
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Public Transport Services and Infrastructure Business Case – Emerging Preferred Option Presentation: Public Transport Services and Infrastructure - 5 December 2023: Objective ID A4556725 ⇨ Presented by: Matthew Kilpatrick – Senior Transport Planner (BOPRC) Key Points: · The proposed through-routed service was flexible and scalable to support future growth · Targeted engagement with a ‘Community Leaders Forum’ had taken place · Outlined three short list options, noting Option 1 as the recommended option. · Provided overview of the Public Transport Services and Infrastructure Business Case (the Business Case) · Adoption of the Business Case would be sought in 2024. Key Points - Members: · To clearly demonstrate the trade-offs between options, an outline of the costs (infrastructure, operational, reliability and social) as well as the benefits (efficiency and effectiveness) was required · A diagram of the current system compared to the proposed system was requested · Clarity was required around the infrastructure improvements and the alignment with TCC infrastructure projects, particularly in relation to the TCC Long Term Plan funding. Noted the high number of planned and current TCC/Waka Kotahi infrastructure projects · As major projects caused significant congestion, modelling should be conducted to establish the impact for other road users; there was reluctance to support an option without due consideration for the network as a whole · It was likely that BOPRC and TCC would become accountable even if communications and project messaging was managed by the Transport System Plan (TSP) · As the fundamental goal was to deliver 20% mode shift, questioned the relative benefit of Option 1 compared to Option 2 or 3 · The demonstration of infrastructure changes needed to be simpler to understand and explainable at a community level. In Response to Questions: · Costs had been considered but it was acknowledged that the options were high level at this stage. Clearer costings would be provided · Targeted engagement had been requested by, and conducted with, Western Bay of Plenty District Council Councillors · The Business Case utilised modelling work conducted by other business cases it was working alongside · TCC and BOPRC staff would maintain communication through major projects to endeavour to maintain bus network reliability · Endorsement of Option 1 at this stage would not preclude the support of another option in the future · It was anticipated Option 1 would increase mode shift by 10%, which would be complimented by behaviour change levers to help reach the 20% goal. · Through-routes and reliability were of paramount importance to mode shift · The suggested network alterations would provide an overall network which was cohesive, efficient and reliable. |
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Receives the report, Public Transport Services and Infrastructure Business Case – Emerging Preferred Option. CARRIED |
Information Only
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Joint PT Committee Projects Update Presented by: Matthew Kilpatrick, Senior Transport Planner (BOPRC) Key Points - Members (TCC): · The Cameron Road Stage Two and the Tauriko West Business Cases were due to be brought to the December TCC Meeting · TCC was working closely with Wellington City Council with the Accessible Streets Area B (Ōtumoetai) project around the use of trial cycleways to provide flexibility and analysis before permanent changes were made. This was also due to be brought to the December TCC Meeting · Bus shelter lighting/improvements and support for the bus service using Cameron Road Stage One was encouraged, particularly once the dedicated bus lanes were functional. In Response to Questions - TCC: · The Cameron Road high-spec bus shelter options had proved prohibitively expensive, and it was noted that current shelters were functional. In Response to Questions - BOPRC: · Supported a joined up communications approach to celebrate the opening of Cameron Road Stage One and to promote public transport use along the corridor. |
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That the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee: 1 Receives the report, Joint PT Committee Projects Update. CARRIED |
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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 |
5.07 pm – the meeting closed.
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Chairperson, Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee