8 October 2004
Annual Monitoring Report (AMR)
Greater Wellington Regional Council have released the Regional Land Transport Strategy Annual Monitoring Report (AMR)
containing the latest transport data from around the region.
Greater Wellington Access Planning Analyst Günther Wild said the data, collected between March and September this year,
reflected regional co-operational in the information sharing area.
“We received useful data from all Road Controlling Authorities (RCA’s) which include Territorial Authorities and Transit
NZ, from the Land Transport Safety Association (LTSA), Police, Automobile Association (AA), Transit NZ, Centre Port,
Toll NZ, Strait Shipping, Wellington Airport and a number of other Regional Councils.”
Günther says information collected is used to identifying current trends or issues allowing for sustainable and future
focussed planning in the transport area.
“While the Wellington region showed steady economic growth of just under 3% per annum over the past five years this
growth rate was lower than Auckland and Canterbury and New Zealand as a whole. Other data results include-
- Total inter-island ferry freight movements showed substantial growth of 153% between 1996 and 2003, while rail freight
continued to decline significantly (figures supplied by TollNZ)
- Regional fuel consumption fell 3.5% between 2002 and 2003 calendar years, driven by decreases in fuel sales in the
western part of the region. Greater Wellington regional fuel consumption continues to show the lowest growth of all
regions compared, with 4% growth between 1998 and 2003 (c.f. Canterbury at 19% and Auckland at 16%)
- Wellington City Council cordon counts show private car use in the am peak increased almost 10% between 2003 and 2004
financial years
- Harvesting of Wairarapa forestry blocks has seen a 13% increase in heavy vehicle movements over the Rimutaka Hill Road
- Greater Wellington’s congestion levels are no longer the lowest of all major Australasian cities measured. All-day
average congestion levels are now higher than Canberra and Perth (2000 data) and Tauranga
- The 2004 perception survey found a 9% decrease in the public perception of bus network reliability, bringing it to the
60% level of perceived reliability seen in the road and train networks
- The 2004 perception survey found that 6% more people between 2003 and 2004 financial years believed that private
vehicle costs were affecting their use
- Regional public transport patronage continues to grow, including a more than 5% increase in off-peak passenger numbers
between 2001 and 2004 financial years
- Road crash numbers continue to be too high, although regional casualties per 100,000 population figures remain the
lowest of all compared regions
- The 2004 perception survey found 71% of people feel ‘safe’ when walking, but only 23% think cyclists are ‘safe’ (c.f.
29% in 2003)
- Of the ‘active’ transport modes, cycling continues to have a considerably lower use level than walking.
- Implementation of the Regional Land Transport Strategy continues to be slower than anticipated, primarily due to
issues relating to the Resource Management Act 1991, uncertainty about urban rail contracts and a lack of funding to
enable the early construction of the Transmission Gully motorway.
And last but not least the private car continues to be the dominant mode of transportation”
ENDS