Passenger Transport Committee 21 February 2017

Report No. 17-10 Information Only - No Decision Required

PASSENGER TRANSPORT SERVICES GENERAL UPDATE

1. PURPOSE 1.1. This report is to update the Committee on the region’s passenger services with respect to how the proposed service improvements and changes are progressing.

2. RECOMMENDATION That the Committee recommends that Council: a. receives the information contained in Report No. 17-10.

3. FINANCIAL IMPACT 3.1. There is no financial impact as a result of this report. All service improvements have been budgeted for in the Long Term Plan 2015-25.

4. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 4.1. Consultation was undertaken through the Regional Public Transport Plan 2015-25 (RPTP) and Long Term Plan processes. Engagement with affected communities on service changes or implementation of new services will be undertaken as part of the communications and promotions plan for each project.

5. SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS RISK IMPACT 5.1. There is no significant risk.

6. BACKGROUND 6.1. Through the preparation of the RPTP, a number of service improvements were proposed to better provide a reliable, integrated, accessible and sustainable public transport system for the region. It is therefore prudent to track and report on how the service improvements and retenders of existing services are progressing. 6.2. Scheduled services improvements and recent retenders are listed below. New trial services:  to (operative as of 4 July 2016)  Levin “Day out in Town” (operative as of 1 July 2016)  Wanganui to Palmerston North (commences 7 February 2017)  Levin to Waikanae (commences 7 March 2017) Existing services with proposed improvements:  Palmerston North Urban – Summerhill (operative as of 4 July 2017)  Palmerston North Urban – Bike Racks on Buses (installed as of September 2016)  Palmerston North Urban – Enhanced Status Quo o Cloverlea Milson enhanced frequencies o Fernlea Heights enhanced frequencies o Extended weekday and weekend services o Highbury split into two separate routes

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Passenger Transport Committee 21 February 2017 7. NEW TRIAL SERVICES

Wanganui to Palmerston North 7.1. The Wanganui to Palmerston North weekday commuter trial service commenced 7 February 2017. The service combines with UCOL’s weekday inter-campus shuttle which runs to/from Wanganui and Palmerston North. A verbal update on its early performance will be provided at the meeting.

Ashhurst to Palmerston North 7.2. An enhanced regular service operating four return trips per weekday and one return Saturday trip, commenced on 4 July 2016 for a two year trial period. A separate item on the performance of the service for the first six months of this trial is included elsewhere in this agenda.

Levin “Day Out In Town” Bus 7.3. The new contract for this service commenced 1 July 2016 for a two year trial period. The service operates one return service every Friday and completes a loop, starting at Levin and travelling via Shannon, Foxton, and Waiterere Beach before returning to Levin. A separate item on the performance of the service of the first six months of this trial is included elsewhere in this agenda.

Levin to Waikanae 7.4. A two year trial contract has been awarded to Uzabus to run a return off peak (shoppers) service between Levin and Waikanae on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The service will commence operation on 7 March 2017, departing Levin at 9.30am arriving at Waikanae at 10.15am, then depart on the return journey at 2.55pm (arriving in Levin at 3.48pm)

7.5. The service crosses beyond the Horizons regional boundary to Greater Wellington and allows passenger the opportunity to connect with the 10.30am Greater Wellington Regional Council train service, should they wish to continue travelling to Paraparaumu or Wellington.

7.6. Free Super Gold Card travel is available on the service within the hours of 9am and 3pm.

8. EXISTING SERVICES WITH PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS

Palmerston North Urban – Summerhill 8.1. The new Summerhill urban route service commenced on 4 July 2016 for a two year trial period and operates 18 services per weekday. Weekend services continue to be covered by the Massey timetable (routes 12 and 14). A separate item on the performance of the service for the first six months of this trial is included elsewhere in this agenda.

8.2. Palmerston North City Council, with support from IPU, is installing a bike rack near the bus shelter in the IPU grounds to provide a park and ride option for those who live further out from the bus route. A bike rack has also been installed on the bus as part of the Palmerston North fleet bike rack installations.

8.3. Bike racks for the Palmerston North urban fleet were installed in September 2016. A total of 43 bike rack trips have been recorded (between September and December 2016) since they were introduced.

Palmerston North Urban – Enhanced Status Quo 8.4. At the November 2015 PTC meeting it was agreed that implementation of the Enhanced Status Quo be prioritised as follows:

a. A two year trial of increased peak frequency (to 10 minutes) on the Milson Cloverlea route;

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Passenger Transport Committee 21 February 2017 b. A two year trial of splitting the Highbury Takaro route into two more direct routes; c. Increased peak hour frequency (to 20 minutes) on the Fernlea Heights route; d. Later weekday services; e. Extended weekend services; f. Increased off-peak frequency.

8.5. The Milson Cloverlea and Fernlea Heights frequency improvements commenced on 7 February 2017. Promotions of the service improvements and new timetable including the changes are currently being advertised.

8.6. The new timetable has been designed in a booklet format which we hope to be more user-friendly and includes more timing points.

8.7. Later weekday and extended weekend services on urban services are scheduled as the next phase of service improvements, to be implemented 1 July 2017.

9. PALMERSTON NORTH TIMETABLE INFORMATION PROVISION 9.1. The full version of the “GoHorizons” bus app for android and iPhone was released in February 2016 to coincide with the commencement of the academic year. The app includes a journey planner feature, as well as static bus timetable information. Following user feedback, a number of improvements have been made to the static timetable displays.

9.2. Officers will be expanding the app to include the Wanganui urban services.

10. KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2016-17 10.1. During 2015-16, much of the work programme focused on re-tendering services and implementing the trial services that commenced in July 2016.

10.2. While there are still some services to be retendered/implemented in 2016-17, the focus of this year will be much more on refining services to seek efficiencies/increase patronage where possible, improved customer information and marketing, more in depth data analysis and improvements to supporting infrastructure.

10.3. Key areas of focus include:  Implementation of the next phase Palmerston North Enhanced Status Quo improvements, (2016-17: Extended late night and weekend services starting July 2017 a two year trial of splitting the Takaro/Highbury route into two separate services starting July 2018);  Implementation of the Wanganui-Palmerston North service;  Implementation of the Levin-Waikanae service;  Monitoring and promoting the trial services;  Commencing a review of the Wanganui urban bus services in preparation for retendering in 2018;  Promotional activities to improve patronage;  Timetable information improvements, including the GoHorizons app, Google Transit, website and the printed timetables.  Infrastructure programme – bus shelters and stops.

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Passenger Transport Committee 21 February 2017 11. SIGNIFICANCE 11.1. This is not a significant decision according to the Council’s Policy on Significance and Engagement.

Ashleigh Gulliver Phil Hindrup TRANSPORT PLANNER MANAGER TRANSPORT SERVICES

ANNEXES There are no attachments for this report.

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