Dear Mr Millar,

 

Thank you for your email received Wednesday, 7 April 2021.

 

We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the
appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a
response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your
request. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

 

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me. If any additional
factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not
hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken into account.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gypsy

 

Gypsy Stevenson

Graduate Advisor

Office of the Mayor and Chief Executive

 

[1]cid:image008.jpg@01D41F43.50654130  
[2]cid:image003.png@01D41F43.50601110 [email address]
[3]cid:image004.png@01D41F43.50601110 Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street,
Christchurch 8013
[4]cid:image005.png@01D41F43.50601110 PO Box 73054, Christchurch 8154
[5]cid:image006.png@01D41F43.50601110 [6]www.ccc.govt.nz

 

 

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[1]Christchurch City Council logo

 
Dear Mr Millar, 

 

Are you able to please clarify your request for information regarding the
proposed closure of the Riccarton Road Bus Lounges. 

 

Are you requesting the total expenditure from Christchurch City Council
for the initial costs on the structural upgrade and fit out of the
building? 

Please clarify the refurbishment that you are referring to in order for us
to provide you with accurate information. 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Gypsy Stevenson
Graduate Advisor

Official Information Team

 

Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street, Christchurch 8013

PO Box 73016, Christchurch 8154

ccc.govt.nz

 

 

From: Gavin Millar <[2][FOI #15104 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 7 April 2021 6:28 pm
To: Official Information <[3][email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Information regarding the closure
of the Riccarton Road bus lounges

 

Dear Christchurch City Council,

I was surprised by the note at the end of the announcement regarding your
long term plan that it was proposed to close the Riccarton bus lounges:

"We’re also proposing to close the Riccarton Road Bus Lounges, which would
save approximately $600,000 a year. This includes around $300,000 of Waka
Kotahi NZ Transport Agency subsidies, and is made up mostly of
maintenance, operational and security costs.

This kind of suburban facility is not provided anywhere else in
Christchurch, and our future planning, which we’ve undertaken with our
public transport partners, hasn’t identified a remaining need for these
lounges or for any similar facilities in the city."

I'm interested in more information about the justification for this
proposal.

Can you please provide:

- A breakdown of the cost savings per year, is it in fact costing $900,000
per year to run this lounge? That's the way I've read the fact that it
will save $600k per year and there is a $300k subsidy provided.
- How much was spent on the fitout (and recent refurb) of these bus
lounges and will any of this will be able to be recouped?
- What consultation has been performed with both the public and "public
transport partners"? This would include any communication, including both
emails and meeting notes/minutes, with ECan/MetroInfo and bus operators as
well as any surveys performed on the public (whether it be bus/lounge
users or a wider group). I'm particularly interested in communication
regarding this lounge as part of the wider future public transport
strategy as it was specifically mentioned as being core to the change to a
more "interchange focused" network a few years ago.
- Have any surveys of usage been performed on the bus lounges? How many
people make use of them each week? Have any other statistics, figures or
anecdotes been captured on the usage of the bus lounges?
- Any other papers or documents produced by or provided to the council
staff regarding the bus lounges in the last year.
- If the LTP is approved what is the intended timeframe for closing the
bus lounges?
- Currently the communication regarding the proposed closure of these bus
lounges is two A4 pages in small font. What communication plan has been
proposed for ensuring people relying on these lounges are informed?

Overall, in a long term plan that proposes spending $96.7 million on
public transport infrastructure and that highlights the importance of
public transport as part of a climate change strategy, it's hard to see
any justification for making the transport system less hospitable for its
users. I'm keen to understand the logic being used here.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Millar
 
 
Contact us
[4]Phone icon 03 941 8999

[5]Map marker icon [6]Visit a Service Centre

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[FOI #15104 email]
3. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
6. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit

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[1]Christchurch City Council logo

 
Dear Mr Millar

 

Please find attached a response to your request under the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[2][email address].

 

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch
City Council website a month after they have been responded to, with
requesters’ personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about this
please contact the Official Information team on
[3][Christchurch City Council request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Gypsy Stevenson

Graduate Advisor

Official Information Team

 

 

Dear [email address],

As a reminder, by law a reply is due within 20 working days of my request,
which would be tomorrow. Any delay beyond the end of the day tomorrow
(including a last minute bad faith extension) will result in a complaint
to the Ombudsman.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Millar

show quoted sections

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[1]Christchurch City Council logo

 
Dear Mr Millar

 

I refer to your email we received on 19 May 2021 requesting the following:

 

"Recent reporting by local media indicates that Riccarton Road and the bus lounges
were called out as key to public transport to part of the city in a report by CCC
staff in December 2020. Can I ask if this reporting is correct and such a report
exists? If it does can you please provide it and also an explanation of why this
wasn't included in the response to my request under point 5?”

 

Staff have provided the following information in response to your follow up
questions.

 

The Council adopted the Public Transport Foundations Business Case on 10 December
2020. The report does not specifically call out any information in regards to
Riccarton Road, nor the bus lounges. There is a consultant’s report as an
attachment to this report which shows maps of the core routes (which Riccarton
Road is one of them). 

 

Please see the link below to the Council agenda which is the report referred to
above– 10 December 2020, item 28, page 689. 

[2]https://christchurch.infocouncil.biz/Ope...

 

The agenda was not included in the initial response as it is not within scope of
your request. The report does not mention the Riccarton Road bus lounges as stated
above.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch City
Council website a month after they have been responded to, with requesters’
personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about this please contact the
Official Information team on [4][Christchurch City Council request email].

 

Yours sincerely,

Gypsy Stevenson
Graduate Advisor

Official Information Team

 

 

Dear [email address],

Recent reporting by local media indicates that Riccarton Road and the bus lounges
were called out as key to public transport to part of the city in a report by CCC
staff in December 2020. Can I ask if this reporting is correct and such a report
exists?

If it does can you please provide it and also an explanation of why this wasn't
included in the response to my request under point 5.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Millar
 
 
Contact us
[5]Phone icon 03 941 8999

[6]Map marker icon [7]Visit a Service Centre

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/
2. https://christchurch.infocouncil.biz/Ope...
3. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
4. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
6. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit
7. https://www.ccc.govt.nz/contact-us#visit