Improving public transport
A year ago we sought your views on some major funding increases needed to maintain and improve public transport in the region. You supported rates increases to do this. Those transport improvements are included in the Plan and are the main reason for the rates increase. We will also increase passenger rail fares by 15%, effective from September 2006. This is to spread costs fairly across all ratepayers and fare paying passengers. This will be the first increase in rail fares for four years.
Your submissions focused on two key issues: first, you said our target on the percentage of work trips made using public transport was not ambitious enough; secondly, you said our highest priority should be to ensure our public transport services run to timetable. We recognised that the target concerned was not as clear as it should be – and it has been amended in the final plan.
All transport trips in the region are forecast to grow at around 4% per year. So even maintaining public transport’s share means we need to increase patronage. This will be a major challenge and require significant investment to make services more attractive to users. The Plan provides for that investment. Currently our job is being made easier by rising petrol prices, encouraging more people to use public transport.
Our challenge is to provide sufficient public transport capacity to meet the growing demand and to maintain the quality of our services so that public transport is the mode of choice over the long term. Greater Wellington will need to constantly monitor the situation. Over the next year we will carry out a comprehensive review of investment priorities to maximise service reliability and meet anticipated demand.
Greater Wellington will be forming four Council Controlled Trading Organisations (CCTOs) to own our investment in public transport infrastructure. With four CCTOs, the risk of owning these assets will be reduced. Further, the cost of running these CCTOs will be minimal as no extra staff are involved.
Our proposed Plan provided for a bus/rail interchange at Porirua at a cost of $10 million. However, as a result of consultation on the Western Corridor Plan this interchange has been deferred. It is not included in the final Plan.