Buses at Tauranga's Durham St bus stop. Photo / Mead Norton
Buses at Tauranga's Durham St bus stop. Photo / Mead Norton
An "incredibly ambitious" plan to push 20 per cent of Tauranga and Rotorua car commuters on to public transport within 10 years has been unanimously approved - but with some scepticism.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council today held its final meeting before elections.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-2032 was presented - the second version of the plan to have been developed, with the first rejected for not being bold enough.
The new plan, signed off by the joint council Public Transport Committee, included a target to lift mode shift in Tauranga and Rotorua to 20 per cent by 2032. It was not warmly received by some councillors.
Councillor Stuart Crosby said he felt the council needed "to be honest" about the wider issues at play.
"There are systemic failures still in getting more people on to buses. That's not a criticism of the Public Transport Committee, it's a New Zealand-wide issue in my view."
Crosby said the incoming council would need to have "a serious conversation about who does what and how".
Regional House at Bay of Plenty Regional Council's offices on Elizabeth St. Photo / George Novak
In the Bay of Plenty, the regional council oversees the operation and delivery of public transport services while local territorial authorities - for example, Tauranga City Council - oversee and manage public transport infrastructure such as bus shelters and roading.
"Rather than having two [entities] trying to provide a public transport system - that's never going to work. There are different priorities from different organisations and that's a problem," Crosby said.
"We have to sit down and honestly ask ourselves: is $38 million [spent on Bay public transport] a good investment in the last three years, or even the last year at least? I would say no, it's not.
"We have to look at how we are going to get there and I do not see how we are going to get to 20 per cent."
Outgoing councillor Stacey Rose, who has been pushing for futuristic thinking and greater action in public transport, expressed concern the target was unachievable without the council taking a more aggressive stance.
"A 20 per cent increase - going from 1.3 per cent in 10 years - is extremely ambitious ...
"I feel we have been giving too many incentives and there hasn't been enough pushing to actually try to get people in there. How long are we going to keep feeding the carrot and when are we going to start using the stick?"
Councillor David Love said there was already outrage in the community about how much was being spent on "a service many don't use and don't want to have to pay for".
Government and local targeted rates each fund 40 per cent of local public transport costs, with the rest split between fares, general rates and other revenue and income.
He said the plan could be viewed as "unpalatable" in the community.
"I'm concerned for the people of Tauranga about how much it's going to cost them and how they might react."
Councillor Te Taru White agreed the plan was ambitious but said it was important that it was.
"Climate change is going to be a big ticket item and this is part of that.
"Let's go for it."
Councillor Lyall Thurston agreed the target was "incredibly ambitious" but it was important the council was "all on the same page" and mode shift would become one of the biggest challenges for the incoming council.
Despite the reluctance of some, the plan was approved and adopted unanimously.
But in his valedictory speech after the vote, outgoing councillor Norm Bruning took aim at the target.
"I've chosen not to say too much but to aim for 20 per cent is just plain wrong. We, in 2004 ... were advised that if we got to 7 per cent, we were doing very well.
"So [we need] just a touch of reality there," he said.
