Category: Transport Planning

Looking at Transport Planning and Design

The RPTP – Round Two

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Next Round of Consultation with the RPTP

 

Bit of a break from the Unitary Plan this morning as I cover my perennial favourite topic: Auckland Transport (in particular public transport). Four days ago Auckland Transport released a full update post-hearings of the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) which I both submitted and later presented in Manukau.

For a recap you can see my following RPTP posts on my submission and presentation

 

As a result of the hearings in February Auckland Transport has released a 57 page report on those hearings. You can read the report in the embed below:

 

I have not had a chance to read the document yet as such (busy with The Unitary Plan) however, take note of this:

 

When will the RPTP be formally adopted by Auckland Transport?

Auckland Transport has made significant progress towards the adoption of the draft RPTP.  Since the submission period closed:

  • We have successfully completed public hearings on the draft RPTP
  • After considering all the submissions received, the Hearing Panel presented a report to the Auckland Transport Board (the Board) recommending changes to the draft RPTP
  • In March 2013 the Board endorsed the changes to the draft RPTP recommended by the Hearing Panel.  This enables Auckland Transport to proceed with detailed local consultation on the proposed new public transport network for Auckland, a key element of the Plan.

 

The Land Transport Management Amendment (LTMA) Bill is currently before Parliament for approval.  Once the LTMA Bill is enacted by Parliament, the RPTP will be altered to ensure it is compliant with the new Act.  We envisage that any changes to what the board has endorsed will mainly relate to procurement issues.  Only once compliant, will the RPTP be formally adopted by the Board (expected to be later this year).  This delay is necessary because the new Land Transport Management Act will repeal the Public Transport Management Act under which the current draft RPTP was created.

 

Once formally adopted, we will inform submitters and make the final RPTP available for the public to view.

 

Local consultation on the proposed new public transport network for Auckland

Consultation on the proposed new public transport network for Auckland (the New Network) has been broken into 3 areas, with South Auckland being the first area to be consulted on.  Please see over the page the proposed consultation and implementation dates for the New Network.

 

 

​Areas ​Consultation ​Implementation
​South Auckland 19 June 2013 to
2 August 2013		 Mid – end 2014​
North Auckland​ Early 2014​ Mid 2015​
Central, East and West Auckland Late 2014​ Mid 2016​

If you would like further information on the proposed New Network please visit our consultation webpage www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz/newnetwork, or email us at busreview@Aucklandtransport.govt.nz

 

Further information on the RPTP

To view further information on the RPTP; such as a copy of the draft RPTP, an electronic copy of the Hearing Panel’s report, or the hearings minutes please visit our consultation websitewww.aucklandtransport.govt.nz/rptp

 

So it seems I am back up for another round of consultation with the Public Transport Network (PTN) from June to August. I better brush up on my reading before submitting the next round of feedback (which is thankfully after the Unitary Plan).

 

Meantime I recommend a bit of brushing up as well with the PTN if you want a network that better serves you…

 

 

All Things (Auckland) Transport

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The Numbers

 

Friday the Auckland Transport Board will conduct its monthly meeting for all things Auckland transport in March. Today the powerful Council Accountability and Performance Committee is meeting (as of now as I am watching the feed live) in which AT will be grilled on the $60 billion Integrated Transport Program and maybe with luck AT-HOP.

 

However I am focusing the March public transport patronage statistics as seen in the embed below:

 

Of note:

  • Rail patronage over the rolling 12 months has slipped further by 4.2% to 9,951,686 
  • Weekday services up 4.5%
  • Western Line patronage up 0.5%
  • Southern, Eastern, Manukau and Onehunga Lines down 6.9%
  • March Madness was prevalent which does cause a surge as tertiary institutions come back ons-stream. April and May often will level out once that surge is reabsorbed back into the systems

 

While there is some good news with the Western Line and Weekday services (although March Madness might of caused the yearly surge blip as it does) the point being that total patronage is still backsliding DOWN.

 

It is the total patronage over the 12 rolling months we usually look and what NZTA can look to for determining subsidies and further such capital investment such as for example the City Rail Link. So we are still seeing slippage and AT is now for sure not going to meet its Statement of Intent for patronage forecast and revenue.

 

Catch is what is Auckland Transport going to do about it…