SUBMISSION TO THE

REGIONAL PUBLIC
TRANSPORT PLAN

Submission for Mr Daniel Farrell of ., Hamilton East 3216

Phone: 0220898329
Email: danielfarrellnzl@gmail.com

I would like to present my submission to the Council, and can be best contacted via email in regard to the
presentation of submissions.

Submission of Mr Daniel Farrell to the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan

Introduction
I have been living in Hamilton on and off since I started studying at the University of Waikato in 2010. As
someone without other transport aside from walking, I use a lot of public transport. As a tertiary student
and a former Director of the Waikato Students Union (2013-14), I have a lot of interest in how public
transport affects tertiary students in Hamilton. As someone who has lived in Hamilton East for three
years and counting, I also have interest in how public transport affects people living in Hamilton East.
As such, there are three areas I will cover in this submission, being the merger of routes 10 and 17,
tertiary concessions, and the use of new electronic ticketing systems.

Summary of Submissions

The merging of routes 10 and 17 is an important improvement of efficiency for the public
transport service.

The reformed route 10 should go to the University at all times, and at the very least from 7am to
9pm, Monday to Friday.

A tertiary concession would increase numbers on routes servicing the University, increasing the
farebox recovery from these routes.

Any tertiary concession should not be limited to certain times and days.

Any tertiary concessions should not be reliant on third party funding.

A new electronic ticketing system should ensure upcoming technology is utilised.

Merging of Routes 10 and 17

Currently, there are a significant number of routes that go through Hamilton East, in particular coming to
Grey Street, opposite (and outside on the return run) the Waikato Regional Council offices. While I have
an understanding of the public transport system in the area, I have seen people get very confused by
which bus they should be catching at points like Grey Street. Removing one service from that by merging
routes 10 and 17 will give improved efficiency of the public transport system and make the system less
confusing for non-regular users.
With the exception of users at the bottom of Jellicoe Drive, this does not appear to negatively affect users
in the area. Users at the bottom of Jellicoe Drive would, however, end up with an approximate thirteen
minute walk, from the current bus stop at approximately 40 Jellicoe Drive to the bus stop at
approximately 181 Grey Street.
The issue that does arise from the current plan is access to the University. The plan currently allows for
the new route 10 to go to the University between 6:55am and 9:25am in the morning, and 2:25pm and
6:30pm in the evening.1 This gives a gap of five hours in the middle of the day and about two hours in the
evening where the University is operating classes which would not be serviced by route 10. This creates
difficulty for students trying to access the University during these times.

As per page 71 of the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan.

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Submission of Mr Daniel Farrell to the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan

In conclusion, the merger of routes 10 and 17 is an important improvement when it comes to the
efficiency of the public transport system. What does need to improve, however, is access to the
University, as there are approximately seven hours in which the University operates that are not covered
by the new route 10. I believe this route should provide access to the University throughout the
Universitys operating hours, particularly Monday to Friday from 7am to 9pm.

Tertiary Concessions
With approximately one in five people in the Hamilton urban area being a tertiary student2, tertiary
students are a very important market for any transportation system in Hamilton. It is widely accepted
that students live in a significant level of poverty. Approximately 10% of tertiary students in Hamilton are
receiving financial assistance from the Ministry of Social Development through the Student Allowance3,
receiving on average $222.27 per week4. This is less than a quarter of the national average weekly income
of $991.5
If a tertiary students were to regularly use public transport, it would cost, only to get to and from
University, $748.80 per year.6 Compare this with approximately $535.35 per year to run a car going
between the University and Hamilton East on the same basis.7 This difference is almost an entire week of
the average Student Allowance, a huge saving for students living in poverty.
With driving being more than $200 per year cheaper for students living in Hamilton East, it is highly
unlikely that tertiary students will use public transport to get to and from University without some form
of tertiary concession. My personal situation is that I often walk to the University because I do not own a
car and buses are extremely expensive. When I do catch the bus, I find there are very few tertiary
students on the bus. I accept that almost 50 per cent of users are at high school or undertaking tertiary
studies8, I would suggest that the vast majority of those would fall into the former category.
Because very few tertiary students are currently using public transport, the overall reduction in fares
received by these passengers would be relatively low. This means there is a significant likelihood that the
related increase in tertiary students using public transport would increase the farebox recovery on routes
servicing tertiary institutions, given the costs of running these routes already exists, and would not
increase simply because of a concession being offered. I find it highly unlikely that there would be the
reduction money coming through the farebox, as suggested in the plan.9

Based on approximately 40,000 tertiary students in an urban area population of 218,800.

Based on 4,015 students receiving the Student Allowance (figure acquired through an Official Information Act
request of the Ministry of Social Development on November 13 2014 see fyi.org.nz/request/2174-numberof-students-receiving-the-student-allowance-in-hamilton-average-weekly-amount-received) out of a
population of approximately 40,000 tertiary students.
4
Data acquired through an Official Information Act request of the Ministry of Social Development on
November 13 2014 see link in footnote 3.
5
From the Statistics New Zealand New Zealand Income Survey, released in October 2014.
6
Based on a student using public transport to get to and from University five times a week during teaching
weeks of A and B semesters, as well as one summer school semester, plus attending six exams across the year.
7
Based on a vehicle running at $20/100km for fuel costs, travelling to and from a location 2km from the
University. Also included is $100 for insurance, $30 for Warrant of Fitness and $280.55 for registration.
8
As per page 28 of the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan.
9
At page 51.
3

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Submission of Mr Daniel Farrell to the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan

Off-peak tertiary discounts, as discussed in the plan,10 while being a good start, is simply not enough.
Assuming this off-peak concession would mirror that which users of the Supergold Card currently
receive,11 there would be five and a half hours which the University operates in which students would not
be able to reasonably afford public transport. This also may reduce the use of public transport during offpeak times as well, given tertiary students would require another form of transport at on-peak times,
which they are therefore likely to use more often.
While it would be ideal to have third party funding for a tertiary concession, I feel it is unreasonable to
have the concession rely on this. Not only would this funding be potentially unreliable, it is also unfair on
tertiary students to push this, given the above submission that tertiary concessions will increase farebox
recovery. If the third party funding does not occur, it is unfair for tertiary students to not have the
concession based on this.
In conclusion, tertiary concessions will benefit the public transport system overall. Firstly, it will increase
use of the public transport system. Coupling this with the lack of increase in cost by offering such a
concession, we find that farebox concessions would likely increase, helping the Waikato Regional Council
to meet its requirements from central Government. Off-peak discounts, while better than nothing, will
impact the benefits of a tertiary concession, both for students and the public transport system in general.
It is highly unreasonable and unfair to require third party contributions to tertiary concessions.

New Electronic Ticketing System

The Draft Regional Public Transport Plan refers to discussions with NZTA and nine other regional
authorities regarding implementing a new electronic ticketing system.12
Should a new system be implemented, it should ensure that new technology is part of that
implementation. For example, use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology could result in the
ability for people to connect their tickets to an application on their phone, allowing them to get on the
bus using only their phone. This could also then include the ability to top up your ticket using the app.
Use of this technology could make using public transport a very seamless experience.

Conclusion
With roughly 18% of the population of the Hamilton urban area being tertiary students, this is a very
important group for any transport system in the Hamilton area. Particularly with services such as the
proposed route 10, which provide access to the University, tertiary students must be considered as a high
priority in decision-making. A tertiary concession would be highly beneficial to the entire public transport
system, and should be considered for urgent implementation. And finally, a new ticketing system must
consider upcoming technology, such as NFC.

10

At page 51.
Currently 9am-3pm and 6:30pm until the end of service.
12
At page 50.
11

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