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Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party Tuesday 5 April 2022 at 1.00pm
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Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party Tuesday 5 April 2022 at 1.00pm
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Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party
5 April 2022
Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party Agenda
Meeting to be held via audiovisual link
on Tuesday 5 April 2022, commencing at 1.00pm
Recommendations contained in the agenda are NOT decisions of the meeting. Please refer to minutes for resolutions.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party
Chairperson, Councillor Terry Archer
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NRC Councillor Rick Stolwerk |
NRC Councillor Jack Craw |
WDC Councillor Tricia Cutforth |
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WDC Councillor Anna Murphy |
WDC Councillor Greg Martin |
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RĪMITI (Item) Page
1.0 Ngā Mahi Whakapai/Housekeeping
2.0 Ngā Whakapahā/apologies
3.0 Ngā Whakapuakanga/declarations of conflicts of interest
4.0 Ngā Whakaae Miniti (Confirmation of Minutes)
4.1 Confirmation of Minutes – 8 December 2021 3
5.1 Receipt of Action Sheet 6
6.1 Government Half-Fares for Public Transport 8
6.2 Whangarei District - Link Bus Services Update February 2022 9
6.3 Rose Street Bus Terminal Upgrade - Update 12
Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party item: 4.1
5 April 2022
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TITLE: |
Confirmation of Minutes – 8 December 2021 |
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From: |
Nicky Hansen, PA to GM Community Resilience |
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Authorised by Group Manager/s: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience, on 30 March 2022 |
That the minutes of the Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party meeting held on 8 December 2021, be confirmed as a true and correct record.
Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga
Attachment 1: 2021 12 08 Joint WDC-NRC
Whangarei Public Transport Working Party Minutes - unconfirmed ⇩ 
5 April 2022
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TITLE: |
Receipt of Action Sheet |
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From: |
Nicky Hansen, PA to GM Community Resilience |
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Authorised by Group Manager/s: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience, on 30 March 2022 |
Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary
The purpose of this report is to enable the meeting to receive the current action sheet.
That the action sheet be received.
Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga
Attachment 1: Action Sheet 2022 03 30 ⇩
Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party item: 6.1
5 April 2022
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TITLE: |
Government Half-Fares for Public Transport |
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From: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience |
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Authorised by Group Manager/s: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience, on 28 March 2022 |
Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary
Central Government announced on 14 March 2022 that all public transport fares would be reduced by 50% from 1 April to 30 June 2022 in response to cost of living “crisis”, the continuing negative financial global impact caused by COVID and the sudden and marked increase in the price of fuel.
Waka Kotahi will be covering the costs of these reductions with no impact to council services and budgets.
That the report ‘Government Half-Fares for Public Transport’ by Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience and dated 21 March 2022, be received.
Background/Tuhinga
Waka Kotahi updated that the government 50% fare reduction initiative is confirmed with the following criteria:
1. Fares will be recovered based on “Actual Fares” taken. I.e., NRC take a $100 half fares, Waka Kotahi reimburse NRC the other $100
2. Implementation costs will be covered by Waka Kotahi – Changes to ticket machines etc.
3. Communications costs to be covered by Waka Kotahi
4. Total Mobility is to be confirmed but initial conversation leading toward a similar discounted fare. (As TM clients already get a 50% discount on their fares, the remaining portion paid to the driver will be 50% discounted).
5. The National Land Transport Fund is not affected by these payments
In Northland, work has already started regarding having the ticket machines programmed with the new fare from 1 April 2022 for three months.
Hopefully people who stopped using public transport recently will come back again and that additional people may try out public transport services as a result.
At a similar time to the government’s announcement, the Whangarei District Council announced they would offer free parking from 14 March to 25 April within the Whangarei business district, which overlaps the start of the 50% reduction in bus fares starting 1 April. The WDC free parking initiative aims to “get people coming into town, getting back to normal routines of shopping, eating, and organising their lives”.
Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga
Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party item: 6.2
5 April 2022
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TITLE: |
Whangarei District - Link Bus Services Update February 2022 |
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From: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience |
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Authorised by Group Manager/s: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience, on 28 March 2022 |
Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary
Bus services continue to be delivered as planned across the Whangarei district at present with no major impact on drivers and services resulting from the Ormicron outbreak of COVID.
The bus passenger numbers, fares and total mobility scheme usage are outlined in the report and remain consistent with figures from previous months.
Contingency planning for both Total Mobility Services and bus driver availability is underway in anticipation of a flow on effect from COVID.
That the report ‘Whangarei District - Link Bus Services Update February 2022’ by Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience and dated 21 March 2022, be received.
Background/Tuhinga
Link PASSENGER TRANSPORT
CityLink, Bream Bay Link, Hikurangi Link, Whangarei Heads Link
*BusLink figures are reported one month in arrears, due to the required information being unavailable at the time of the agenda deadline.
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Bus Link stats for February 2022 (revenue ex GST) |
Actual |
Budget |
Variance |
Year/Date Actual |
Year/Date Budgeted |
Variance |
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CityLink Passengers
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13,123 |
21,900 |
-8,777 |
149,341 |
182,238 |
-32,897 |
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CityLink Revenue |
$19,091 |
$28,521 |
-$9,430 |
$191,727 |
$237,334 |
-$45,607 |
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Bream Bay Link Passengers |
59 |
24 |
35 |
309 |
180 |
129 |
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Bream Bay Link Revenue |
$356 |
$86 |
$270 |
$1,983 |
$648 |
$1,335 |
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Hikurangi Link Passengers |
25 |
24 |
1 |
141 |
168 |
-27 |
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Hikurangi Link Revenue |
$65 |
$63 |
$2 |
$326 |
$469 |
-$143 |
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Whangarei Heads Link Passengers |
9 |
24 |
-15 |
70 |
180 |
-110 |
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Whangarei Heads Link Revenue |
$39 |
$104 |
-$65 |
$293 |
$782 |
-$489 |
All services remain operating at full schedules however COVID-19 still appears to be the major reason for passenger numbers remaining low.
National Bus Driver Shortage
The national shortage of bus drivers is not something new. It has been an ongoing problem in the larger cities for some time but has now reached the level that Auckland Transport is failing to cover up to 1,100 trips a day.
From ongoing feedback received from regional council counterparts, Waka Kotahi, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Education, it has become apparent that because of COVID-19, this driver shortage has rapidly escalated to the point that numerous contracted operators are having to cancel a growing number of trips each day. Some councils have resorted to operating Saturday timetables only as this is all they can cover.
This scenario will be exacerbated when the borders open and immigrant drivers return to their country of origin to visit families. These visits are expected to take months, not weeks.
At this time, the impact on the Northland Regional Council’s contracted services has been negligible but there is a high probability that this driver shortage will eventually negatively impact these services.
Following consultation with the operators, the following action is being undertaken to address the above:
· Hikurangi Link – Once a week shopping service. Worst case scenario would be this service being suspended for a brief period.
· CityLink – NRC have been working on a timetable that will offer a reduced service whilst covering as much as possible. This would allow for 7 drivers needed to operate the reduced service, rather than the current 12.
· Bream Bay Link – This is a once-a-week service with all drivers of the company being vaccinated. Worst case scenario would be this service being suspended for a brief period.
In addition to the above, the transport team will work closely with the comms team to ensure that as many customers as possible are advised of any impending disruptions.
Total Mobility (TM)
*Total Mobility Scheme figures are reported one month in arrears, due to the required information being unavailable at the time of the agenda deadline.
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Total Clients |
Monthly Actual Expend |
Monthly Budgeted Expend |
Monthly Variance |
Year/Date Actual Expend |
Year/Date Budgeted Expend |
Annual Variance |
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February 2022
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1,233 |
$16,372 |
$25,000 |
-$8,628 |
$133,901 |
$150,000 |
-$16,099 |
COVID-19 Contingency Plans for Total Mobility
Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) staff are working with Total Mobility Transport Operators and Assessing Agencies on Contingency Plans should Omicron take a hold in Northland.
As transport is classified an essential service, and these clients are deemed as most at risk, they must be able to access the Total Mobility Scheme to meet their essential needs.
Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga
Joint WDC-NRC Whangarei Public Transport Working Party item: 6.3
5 April 2022
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TITLE: |
Rose Street Bus Terminal Upgrade - Update |
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From: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience |
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Authorised by Group Manager/s: |
Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience, on 28 March 2022 |
Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary
The Whangarei District Council’s Rose Street Bus Terminus has begun phase 1 of planned upgrades. The upgrades started on 2 March 2022, with bus infrastructure moved to Vine Street while the work is completed to assist with the continuation of CityLink bus services.
That the report ‘Rose Street Bus Terminal Upgrade - Update’ by Victoria Harwood, Pou Tiaki Hapori - GM Community Resilience and dated 21 March 2022, be received.
Background/Tuhinga
The first phase of the Rose Street Bus Terminus upgrade commenced on 2 March 2022. This work centres around upgrading the bus traffic flow, existing bus bays, installation of new shelters and pedestrian crossings. It will also allow for space to accommodate additional buses when required.
The upgrade of the existing building, which includes passenger seating, office accommodation and public toilets, is not being undertaken during this phase. The planned date for the second phase of this work is yet unknown but is included currently in year five of the Whangarei District Council Long-Term Plan.
During this phase of the upgrades, the buses are using Vine Street which has bus bays, bus stop signage and timetables installed. Verbal feedback from the public is they prefer the Vine Street location for the bus terminal as there is less anti-social behaviour compared to that experienced at the Rose Street terminal.
The first phase is expected to be completed by May 2022.
Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga
