Travel Survey Vital for Future Planning

Dunedin (Friday, 9 May 2014) – Some Dunedin households will be surveyed about their travel patterns as part of key planning for future travel demand.

The Dunedin City Council will work with a survey team led by PlanTrans over the next eight months to gather information about how Dunedin residents choose to travel to and from home, work, schools and shopping centres.

DCC Transportation Group Manager Gene Ollerenshaw says, “The results will help the DCC plan for future travel demand, understand where congestion problems may occur and continue to make it easier for people to get about in different ways.”

DCC Infrastructure Services Committee Chair Cr Kate Wilson says, “I strongly encourage residents to take part in this survey, which will provide information vital for us to plan properly for the future needs of residents and visitors. The timing is particularly pertinent as issues such as cycleways, walkways and the delivery of bus services are being discussed widely in the community.”

The survey starts next week and goes through to late September. As part of the survey, 325 households will be randomly selected from Dunedin’s urban area and the townships of Mosgiel, Outram, Allanton, Waitati, Port Chalmers and Portobello, and invited to take part.

Mr Ollerenshaw says each of the selected households will receive a letter and then a follow-up phone call from Ipsos, a member of the PlanTrans team. If they agree to take part, the survey questions will be sent out.

Each household will answer a few questions about themselves and their vehicles. Each person in the household aged 10 years and older will then be asked to carry a personal passive Global Positioning System (GPS) device for seven days, to record each person’s travel. The GPS is the same size as a mobile phone and weighs only 50 grams.

Cr Wilson says, “This is an exciting opportunity for selected Dunedin households to be involved, using simple and convenient technology just like we use every day.”

Mr Ollerenshaw says undertaking a Household Travel Survey is an essential step in updating the DCC’s Transportation Model. A detailed survey like this has not been carried out since 1989. All information collected will be kept confidential and only used for statistical purposes.

NZ Transport Agency Regional Manager Planning & Investment Southern Bruce Richards says, “Dunedin residents are also our customers and are at the heart of our business. We want to shift people effectively as well and to do this we have to understand what they need from the transport network. This survey will provide that essential information so the DCC and ourselves can be effective in meeting these needs.”

The cost of the survey is $149,000, with the NZ Transport Agency meeting two thirds of the cost and the DCC paying the rest.

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