Tauranga bus vision Waka Hiko Te Papa embraced by city leaders as 'wonderful' idea

Artist rendering of new designs for Waka Hiko Te Papa. Image / Supplied

A "bold" new eco-friendly bus proposal has been described as a potential circuit-breaker for Tauranga's public transport network.

The Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee has instructed staff at Bay of Plenty Regional Council to consider plans put forward by architect Mark Wassung and Kiwi Bus Builders managing director Richard Drummond to get more people on to fully electric buses.

At a June 21 committee meeting Wassung and Drummond presented a plan to build a new 100 per cent electric bus fleet for Tauranga. The proposal was warmly received by committee members, with some stating the proposal was a "wonderful idea" and a chance "to do something differently".

The committee's recommendation to staff, to include and consider the proposed bus trial, comes as the regional council holds consultation on its draft Bay of Plenty Public Transport Plan, which closes for feedback on July 29 before hearings begin on August 17.

In the meeting, Wassung described the bus vision Waka Hiko Te Papa as a "bold" chance to really make a difference in the decarbonisation of transport emissions and uptake of people using public transport.

The proposed new buses would mainly service the Te Papa Peninsula and each seat 23 people, allowing more room for people using mobility scooters, bikes, and wheelchairs. They would also be shorter, measuring 10.1m instead of the 12.5m the existing buses reach. This would make the buses "a lot faster, frequent and reliable", Wassung said.

Artist rendering of new designs for Waka Hiko Te Papa. Image / Supplied

"The big difference we've come up with here is we want a largely open plan centre so there can be flexibility rather than current buses that consist of bucket seats."

The buses would be built at Drummond's workshop in Tauriko West.

Wassung said the use of vibrant colours would help the buses be a "disruptor" to help spark a behavioural shift to encourage more people to catch public transport. Routes would also be simplified with colour coding; a red bus would be aligned with a red route, a blue bus aligned with a blue route, and so on.

"The whole intent of this is to try to make transport more attractive by strong use of colour."

The new buses could also work in with colourful, 3D-built bus shelters also aimed at being more user-friendly, Wassung said.

The shelters could come with public toilets and solar-powered lighting activated by proximity sensors as people approached.

Wassung said the buses would be 100 per cent electric, as opposed to the existing electric buses the regional council was already using which still relied upon diesel engines to fuel air conditioning.

These engines, which sat on the bus roof, made these buses much heavier, Wassung said.

The Bay of Plenty Times has reported the existing electric bus fleet was damaging suburban roads due to excessive weight.

Drummond said: "We've got to start doing something different [in Tauranga] and this is a good place to start.

Architect Mark Wassung, pictured in 2017 with a concept to build a tower block development in the CBD, has a vision for Tauranga's buses. Photo / George Novak

"Here we can design and build the bus here and make it different and better."

If not, "we'll have déjà vu and we'll have people not travelling on buses", he said.

"If we keep doing what we are doing now we will get the same result.

Drummond was already building 100 per cent electric buses for Wellington, which were being well received, he said.

Regional councillor and deputy chairman Andrew von Dadelszen agreed with Wassung's call for a circa 20 to 25 passenger bus but disagreed with his suggestion the existing network was not fit for purpose.

"The concept is great but you will struggle. Councils and local governments are pretty risk-averse. They are unlikely to offer you a bus service when you've never run a bus service before. I think that's where you'll probably run into trouble.

"There are some wonderful ideas in there but that's my critique to you."

Wassung responded: "It's been four years of trying to push innovation and everywhere we go we get pushed around."

"I don't want to be a bus operator, I'm an architect and urban designer passionate about my city. To be categorically clear, I do not want to be a bus operator. I'm doing this work outside of my work as an architect."

Drummond said he and Wassung were effectively calling for a trial of potentially 10 new buses and "seeing what works and what doesn't".

Tauranga City commission chairwoman and chairwoman of the Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee Anne Tolley says a Waka Hiko Te Papa bus vision has "merit". Photo / George Novak

"That's sort of more what we're talking about. We're not trying to take over the bus and say our buses are better than yours."

Regional councillor Paula Thompson commended Wassung and Drummond.

"I absolutely adore this wonderful design concept you've got," Thompson said.

"The word circuit-breaker comes to mind. That's what we need in this city; a circuit-breaker for public transport and I was going to suggest ... we have the draft regional PT [public transport] plan coming up for consultation ... I would strongly urge us to have these concepts fully in mind.

"We need change," Thompson said.

Committee co-chairwoman Anne Tolley said she believed the vision had merit, saying "I'm a fan".

"I do think we have an opportunity with Cameron Rd to do something differently."

Tolley called for the committee to recommend in its decision making "that we consider the submission for a trial of a different type of bus along Cameron Rd" and for staff to also consider the presentation.

People can find out more information about the regional council's public transport plans, and submit their views on Waka Hiko Te Papa via the council's website.