Passengers getting on board a bus in Greerton. Photo / Mead Norton
Passengers getting on board a bus in Greerton. Photo / Mead Norton
Bay of Plenty public transport leaders have set a target to shift 20 per cent of Tauranga and Rotorua's urban car commuters on to public transport within 10 years.
But how exactly the ambitious target — which is going before the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for confirmation today — will be achieved remains unclear.
The council building its own buses and supplying its own drivers were options suggested at a meeting of the joint council Public Transport Committee last Thursday, as was providing more park-and-ride facilities.
The regional council oversees public transport services such as buses, which are currently contracted out to independent operator NZ Bus as part of a nine-year contract.
The use of public transport accounted for just 1.3 per cent of journeys to work, according to the 2018 Census. This was less than the number of people cycling to work (2 per cent) and those who walked or jogged (3.8 per cent).
The new target seeks to increase this to 20 per cent by 2032.
The bus option was among key objectives highlighted in a revised Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-2032, which was approved by the committee and would go to a council meeting today for adoption.
The plan was presented to the committee earlier this month but was rejected because it was not considered bold enough at the time.
Designing and implementing a regional ferry service was also listed in the revised plan, along with actively pursuing efforts to extend the Auckland to Hamilton railway to Tauranga.
On-demand buses and park-and-ride facilities, also included in the plan, dominated discussions.
Wednesday Challenge director Heidi Hughes. Photo / George Novak
In the meeting, councillor Jane Nees expressed frustration that more had not already been done to help set up park-and-ride services, which she said was something many people told her they would use.
"There seems to be a reluctance, particularly from Tauranga City Council to progress park-and-rides ... if so, why? It's an absolute no-brainer and I cannot understand why you don't do it?"
While the regional council oversees the public transport services, the city council oversees the infrastructure such as roading and bus shelters.
However, regional council transport director Greg Campbell said park-and-ride facilities were not viewed as "particularly positive" by Government policymakers.
Nees said: "Well, if the Government wants us to reduce our emissions targets they are going to have to change their approach."
Earlier this year the Government announced four transport targets to reduce carbon emissions. This included reducing the total kilometres travelled by cars (and other light vehicles) by 20 per cent by 2035 in the country's largest cities.
Tauranga council Commissioner Stephen Selwood described park-and-rides as a chicken and egg situation "because you need to have certainty of routes and to make sure the park and ride investments work".
Selwood said the council was looking at potential park-and-ride locations.
At one point, Campbell highlighted an objective in the plan of "enabling provisions to allow councils to own and operate services in house".
He said: "It could be that we build our own buses and [provide] our own drivers".
Among the plan's action points were instructions to begin a review to ensure there was an "optimal mix" of bus sizes and operators in the region "to deliver high-quality services". Another was to "work with operators" to ensure driver conditions "support the retention of a stable and sustainable workforce and deliver contracted levels of service".
The region, and Tauranga in particular, is in the midst of a bus driver shortage which has not been helped by spates of violence and criminal behaviour at Tauranga bus stops this year.
After the meeting, transport advocate and Wednesday Challenge director Heidi Hughes applauded the revised plan, saying the committee appeared to have listened to the "overwhelming message from many" submitters to be bolder and aspirational.
While the 20 per cent target might appear to be challenging in a region with just 1.3 per cent mode shift (the change from one form of transportation to another), it was actually in line with other cities, she said.
"It's just that we haven't been outrageously different before," she said.
Hughes was also encouraged by the efforts to explore chances to provide alternative public transport options such as on-demand bus services.
"Choice is what people need; a flexible system with on-demand services. There's not going to be a silver bullet, especially for the design of Tauranga but something like a ferry for people on the water, and buses for people on a direct bus line, and on-demand public transport can help fill a lot of those gaps in between."
Hughes said she'd like to see more detail on how such options could potentially work, and how they would be funded.
"I don't think it's a talkfest ... because it's certainly in the plan. But what it will achieve will depend on which way the Government funding will swing.
Sustainable Bay of Plenty was among the 65 submitters to the plan. Director Glen Crowther was heartened that people's views had been heard.
Crowther said the target was "fantastic" and "very aspirational" but achieving it would only work if everyone - regional council, city council and the Government - worked together to align their goals.
"The challenge they have got is they have to line up all the different transport plans," Crowther said.
The Government's four transport targets Target 1 – Reduce total kilometres travelled by the light fleet by 20 per cent by 2035 through improved urban form and providing better travel options, particularly in our largest cities. Target 2 – Increase zero-emissions vehicles to 30 per cent of the light fleet by 2035. Target 3 – Reduce emissions from freight transport by 35 per cent by 2035. Target 4 – Reduce the emissions intensity of transport fuel by 10 per cent by 2035. Source - Ministry for the Environment
