There’s an interesting NZTA board paper passed on to me by Jon C of AKT, which discusses NZTA’s role in funding public transport – most particularly their role in helping to fund rail projects. This board paper came about as part of a solution to the $30 million rail funding gap that Steven Joyce has created. Here’s some background to NZTA’s role in funding rail projects:
One useful thing the Board Paper does is give a good analysis of why NZTA should be helping to fund rail. Remember that at the moment NZTA can help fund rail operating costs, but for some illogical reason they cannot contribute to rail capital costs.
That’s the most amount of sense I think I’ve ever seen out of NZTA. Recognition that motorway corridors are finite and often can’t continue to be widened. Recognition that rail offers enormous capacity opportunities, recognition that electric rail can be operated independent of fuel price fluctuations. Wow, Steven Joyce would be furious if he saw this board paper!
Looking at things in more detail, there is a growing “crunch point” in the funding of rail in both Auckland and Wellington. At the same time as costs have been increased by improving infrastructure and service provision – in some cases leading patronage increases – we’re seeing the introduction of the mental 50% farebox recovery policy and the placement of limitations on the amount NZTA can spend on rail. The worry is that this ‘crunch point’ will lead to big increases in rail fares over the next few years. This is picked up further, later in the board paper (I’ve chopped together a few paragraphs that are separated by annoying withheld sections):
The cynic in me suggests that perhaps the farebox recovery ratio has been deliberately imposed to limit patronage increases. After all, NZTA never undertook any research to determine whether 50% was the most appropriate number or not.
There’s a lot of withheld information later in the board paper, but the important thing is that the NZTA board did approve the allocation of $15 million as their contribution to helping to close the rail funding gap – this is recorded in the minutes:
The paper is quite interesting in showing that there is an understanding of the importance of rail within NZTA, it just generally struggles to reach the surface of that organisation. It’s also good that NZTA are making a contribution to closing the rail funding gap – and ensuring that rail services can continue to be improved over the next few years.
I have a really big OIA request of NZTA due to be sent to me on March 7th. It should be quite interesting to see what’s in it.
that’s pretty awesome all up. good to hear NZTA being rational
A couple of interesting things on here,
1. They are suggesting that even with a more patronage growth focused target that over 10 years we will only get another 4.6m trips above what we have now, considering that patronage has been growing by almost 1m per year this seems unlikely. I would suggest that 13-14m trips will be happening by the time the electric trains start rolling as by then the network will have been fully upgraded, trains will be faster as there would be less works to contend with and timetables will be more reliable. EMU’s will then add a lot of extra capacity and improve speed and reliability further. (currently 4 car trains which are most common have seats for about 260 people, a 6 car EMU is planned to have about 500 seats).
2. These patronage projections are also different to those used in the CBD tunnel study which effectively said that by 2021 we would have about 22m trips per year
3. There is a slight mistake in the 2nd to last paragraph, they said that Auckland had 10m patronage growth in 1010
4. They confirm that the benefit of a driver shifting to rail is actually $19 not $17 as suggested earlier.
At the end of the day it is positive from the NZTA but will those in the government listen?
Extending the network will bring exponential growth in ridership, all else being equal, simply because it will be more useful to more people. It will improve the whole system in greater ways than simply picking up local rides on the new route. If there really was a will to grow ridership this fact would be understood and there would not be the miserable doubting of every proposed improvement. Is this doc. a sign that some are moving to a positive position on this issue? I hope so. Still too much is secret though. And still they show every sign of planning to endlessly add motorway lanes, while still claiming induced demand doesn’t happen in Auckland.
Wow what happened?
Did someone spike their drinks or something?
How well integrated is the Auckland rail system? They mention Wellington, nothing said about Auckland.
A place like Auckland should be carrying say 50 million passengers per year, at least.
“How well integrated is the Auckland rail system? They mention Wellington, nothing said about Auckland.”
I’d like to know why they think Wellington’s system is integrated. There is a bus station at the central railway station, but they don’t have integrated ticketing as far as I know.
They have timed bus feeders to some suburban rail stations.
How’s Wellington’s Light Rail ideas coming along? I heard LRT was raised in the mayoral elections a while ago.
Some study is underway apparently.
unfortunately the mayor Celia is insisting on running light rail on the heavy rail lines to Porirua and Hutt, which is definitely not going to happen. Rightly or wrongly that decision has been made and trying to revisit that will lose Celia credibility for good project that is light rail to the eastern suburbs (airport and surrounds).
The draft termos reference for what’s called the Wellington Public Transport Spine Study, covering light rail etc, are at item 4 on the agenda at http://www.gw.govt.nz/committee-meetings-calendar/detail/6868. They’re due to be finalised by Wellington City, Greater Wellington & NZTA.
Outside Wellington city the region’s public transport system is operationally pretty well integrated – the timetable of practically every bus service in Porirua, Kapiti and the Hutt Valley and some routes in the Wairarapa is based on connecting with trains (though from the information available at Wellington Station a passenger would be hard pressed to know this). Practically all services use basically the same standard fare zones and prices irrespective of mode, but integrated ticketing is limited to some day and monthly passes and to day returns where trains have recently replaced buses: from Whitby to Porirua via Paremata, and from Otaki and Waikanae Beach to Paraparaumu via Waikanae.
For all intents and purposes the Welly Region trains and buses are NOT integrated. Yes you can get some passes that cover some buses and the trains, but they are of limited value. For instance there is a Kapiti Pass which lets people have one pass for the trains and buses in Kapiti, but it’s then useless for catching onward buses in Welly or the Hutt or even in Tawa and Porirua (which even have the same operator as the Kapiti buses). There is a similar pass for the Hutt.
I think the thinking behind that is that they are purely for commuters with one change from bus to rail. They definitely aren’t for people who might want to get around by public transport and foot and not own a car and would take full advantage of integrated ticketing.
I’ve always believed there were rational elements in NZTA who wish to follow best practice, but at the end of the day it come down to what the policy makers want. If Steven Joyce wants to spend eleven billion on new motorways and cut rail off at the root then that is what NZTA have to do.
“unfortunately the mayor Celia is insisting on running light rail on the heavy rail lines to Porirua and Hutt, which is definitely not going to happen. Rightly or wrongly that decision has been made and trying to revisit that will lose Celia credibility for good project that is light rail to the eastern suburbs (airport and surrounds).”
Sorry, but that’s a complete misapprehension.
Mayor Celia is not insisting on light rail running on heavy rail lines, though I think that she can see the (substantial) benefits. And to say it is “definitely not going to happen” implies a firm certainty that just doesn’t exist. No decisions have yet been made, so there’s nothing to revisit. See the study that I referred to in my other post for details.
It’s a bit off-topic I know, but is it even practical to run light-rail trains on the existing railway lines? What impact would that have on the heavy-rail trains?
Wellington has just spent a lot of money on new trains, it would be dumb to undermine the job they do.
It is practical to run light rail vehicles (tram-trains) on existing railway lines mixed with existing trains, and it happens every day in Karlsruhe, Saarbrucken, Mulhouse, Kassel etc, with more systems in the offing in countries like France and Spain. They supplement or improve existing services, often with spectacular improvements in patronage – they certainly don’t undermine them.