Submissions close tomorrow for the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill.
The CBT is very concerned that the current structure of the Bill will transfer much of the power over transport in Auckland away from elected local and regional politicians, towards unelected transport officials and central government.
Our full submission is here, and the summary is below the fold…
We’ve just received this by email from the NZTA:
The NZTA has been working on a draft farebox recovery policy for public transport services which sets out the NZTA’s proposed requirements relating to farebox recovery policy in the regions. Once the policy is finalised it is to be implemented by regional councils and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority.
The farebox recovery policies that regional councils include in their regional public transport plans set out the contribution public transport users are expected to make to the cost of providing public transport services in their region.
A farebox recovery ratio, the proportion of the total costs of the services recovered from the users, measures the contribution fares make to the cost of providing public transport services, and is typically expressed as a percentage.
The NZTA believes the farebox recovery ratio is one way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of public transport networks. The NZTA is keen for regional councils to set and achieve a farebox recovery ratio target for public transport services in their region which sets a fair distribution of the costs between the users, the regional authority and the NZTA. Farebox recovery ratios have been in decline in New Zealand for quite some time, and the NZTA is keen to arrest this decline.
It should be noted that changing fare structures or raising fares is not the only way to improve farebox recovery ratios, other measures include improving service and information quality, integrating fares and simplifying ticketing systems to encourage increased patronage together with reducing costs by optimising schedules, frequencies and service times, increasing priority measures and so on.
Further rationale on why we are doing this work and the rationale for the NZTA’s draft farebox recovery policy can be found in the consultation document and associated Questions and Answers attached. This information is also available via the NZTA’s website http://www.nzta.govt.nz/consultation/farebox-recovery-policy/index.html
We welcome any submission you would like to make. Details on how to make a submission can be found in the consultation document. I have also attached a word file with all of the consultation questions raised in the consultation document, which can be used to make a submission. The closing date for submissions/feedback is 5pm Monday 30 November 2009.
Our submission on ARTA’s Regional Land Transport Programme and the Auckland Transport Plan.
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Draft 2009/10 RLTP and 11/12 Auckland Regional Land Transport Programme and the Auckland Transport Plan. Consultation with groups such as ours and wider transport stakeholders is vital to achieving better transport outcomes for Auckland.
The Campaign for Better Transport is an incorporated society with the declared objective of being advocates of public transport, cycling, walking and other alternatives to the private car. Membership consists of 50 paid up members, with a mailing list of over 3,000 at present.
The Campaign for Better Transport is a voluntary group and is politically independent.
Join the conversation at the CBT online forum.