Audit Report RR
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Auditing public transport accessibility in New Zealand October 2010 NZ Transport Agency research report 417 Auditing public transport accessibility in New Zealand October 2010 C. O’Fallon Pinnacle Research & Policy Ltd, Wellington NZ Transport Agency research report 417 ISBN 978-0-478-36490-3 (print) ISBN 978-0-478-36491-0 (electronic) ISSN 1173-3756 (print) ISSN 1173-3764 (electronic) NZ Transport Agency Private Bag 6995, Wellington 6141, New Zealand Telephone 64 4 894 5400; facsimile 64 4 894 6100 [email protected] www.nzta.govt.nz O’Fallon, C (2010) Auditing public transport accessibility in New Zealand. NZ Transport Agency research report no.417. 150pp. Carolyn O'Fallon Pinnacle Research & Policy Ltd PO Box 12-483, Thorndon, Wellington 6011, New Zealand [email protected] www.pinnacleresearch.co.nz This publication is copyright © NZ Transport Agency 2010. Material in it may be reproduced for personal or in-house use without formal permission or charge, provided suitable acknowledgement is made to this publication and the NZ Transport Agency as the source. Requests and enquiries about the reproduction of material in this publication for any other purpose should be made to the Research Programme Manager, Programmes, Funding and Assessment, National Office, NZ Transport Agency, Private Bag 6995, Wellington 6141. Keywords: accessibility, audit, best practice, bus, guide, New Zealand, public transport, rail, regional council, report card, train, whole of journey. An important note for the reader The NZ Transport Agency is a Crown entity established under the Land Transport Management Act 2003. The objective of the Agency is to undertake its functions in a way that contributes to an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system. Each year, the NZ Transport Agency funds innovative and relevant research that contributes to this objective. The views expressed in research reports are the outcomes of the independent research, and should not be regarded as being the opinion or responsibility of the NZ Transport Agency. The material contained in the reports should not be construed in any way as policy adopted by the NZ Transport Agency or indeed any agency of the NZ Government. The reports may, however, be used by NZ Government agencies as a reference in the development of policy. While research reports are believed to be correct at the time of their preparation, the NZ Transport Agency and agents involved in their preparation and publication do not accept any liability for use of the research. People using the research, whether directly or indirectly, should apply and rely on their own skill and judgement. They should not rely on the contents of the research reports in isolation from other sources of advice and information. If necessary, they should seek appropriate legal or other expert advice. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the NZ Transport Agency without which this research project could not have been undertaken. We thank Adam Lawrence and Anke Kole at Greater Wellington Regional Council for their invaluable assistance and patience as we worked through piloting and refining the audit methodology. Adam, in particular, for his skills in mapping the bus stop routes; automating the Excel worksheets; and developing rating scales. We would also like to recognise the individuals within these and other organisations whose comments helped us to develop the output from this project to ensure its usefulness to them, particularly our steering group: David Peirse and Bruce Coleman (Human Rights Commission); Anna Southen (Ministry of Transport); Pania Elliott, Balt Gregorius, and Chad Barker (NZ Transport Agency); and Anthony James and his team (Auckland Regional Transport Authority). We also appreciate the input and advice the steering group sought from other colleagues and from their organisation’s advisory groups, as this input further enhanced our project output. We also appreciate the assistance from our peer reviewers: Professor Graham Currie (Chair of Public Transport, Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University, Victoria) and Tim Hughes (Senior Engineer, NZ Transport Agency). Their many valuable comments improved the clarity and accuracy of the final report and accompanying documents. Last but not least, thanks to Heather Carew, the very thorough and patient NZTA editor, whose work has improved the clarity and consistency of this report and appendices. Abbreviations and acronyms ARTA Auckland Regional Transport Authority BF Barrier Free New Zealand Trust COST European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research GIS geographic information system GW Greater Wellington Regional Council HRC Human Rights Commission PT public transport NZTA New Zealand Transport Agency NZTS New Zealand Transport Strategy PNCC Palmerston North City Council PPDG Pedestrian planning and design guide (NZTA 2008) Contents Executive summary .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 1 Overview and purpose .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Project outputs ........................................................................................................ 12 1.3 Report structure ...................................................................................................... 12 2 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Finalising the steering/stakeholder group............................................................. 13 2.3 Preparing the preliminary scoping paper and consultation .................................. 13 2.4 Developing a draft set of trial documentation and consultation .......................... 14 2.5 Piloting the audit methodology .............................................................................. 14 2.6 Preparing the audit documents and report ............................................................ 15 3 The public transport accessibility audit, report card and best practice guide ......... 16 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 16 3.1.1 Establishing parameters for the accessibility audit and report card ......... 16 3.2 Purpose of a public transport accessibility audit .................................................. 16 3.3 Definitions of accessibility ...................................................................................... 17 3.4 Scope of accessibility .............................................................................................. 18 3.5 Accessible to whom? ............................................................................................... 20 3.6 PT modes included .................................................................................................. 22 3.7 PT services included ................................................................................................ 22 3.8 Journey coverage ..................................................................................................... 22 3.9 Geographical scale .................................................................................................. 23 3.10 Structure of the audit .............................................................................................. 24 3.11 Ranking or scoring within the audit ....................................................................... 26 3.12 The PT accessibility audit and report card ............................................................. 27 3.13 The best practice guide .......................................................................................... 28 3.14 Source of factors used to assess public transport accessibility ........................... 28 4 Pilot of audit tool ............................................................................................................................................. 31 4.1 Selecting the PT routes for the pilot ...................................................................... 31 4.2 Creating the maps for the audit ............................................................................. 31 4.3 Selecting the fieldworker to complete the audit .................................................... 34 4.4 Out in the field – compiling the audit data ............................................................ 34 4.5 Summarising the audit data and creating the report card .................................... 34 4.6 Pilot audit findings .................................................................................................. 35 4.6.1 Report card results for route 11 .................................................................. 35 4.6.1 Report card results for routes 43 and 44