20 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland 1010
Private Bag 92250, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Ph 09 355 3553
14 March 2023
D Towel
[FYI request #21852 email]
Your request for information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
1987 (LGOIMA) – CAS-687178-N1N3B6
I refer to your official information request dated 16 February 2023 regarding the instalment of audio
announcements on bus services.
Initial proposal and any progress documents, or other correspondence, relating to the instal ation
of bus audio announcements in AT buses.
Please find attached the Business Case and the latest monthly project report from February. The
project is referred to as On Bus Connectivity within Auckland Transport.
Details regarding the timeline of the project: from proposal to completion.
The project commenced investigation, trial, and design in April 2018, and is due to be completed by
the end of 2023.
Details of the project costings (actual and projected), including but not limited to:
a) The proposal / scoping of the bus audio announcements
The budget for the On-Bus Connectivity project is $9.6 million which includes software,
hardware, communications, instal ations, and audio recordings etc. $7.1 million has already
been spent. It is forecasted to spend another $2.5 million.
b) The trial and feedback phase
The trial and design phase cost $0.3 mil ion.
c) The cost to date, and the total amount forecasted, to implement the bus audio
announcements in AT buses.
Please refer to the response to question 3a. The budget for the On-Bus Connectivity project is
$9.6 mil ion, of which $7.1 mil ion has already been spent. It is forecasted to spend another $2.5
million.
d) Amount spent on private consultants to date (and projected cost) The On Bus Connectivity project has not engaged any private consultants during this project. The
project has contracted with technical IT suppliers, Bus Operators, and equipment instal ers.
at.govt.nz
The feedback received from the public to date: including the number of submissions, and the
number of positive / negative submissions, the date that the submissions will be
In February 2017, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission notified Auckland Transport of
complaints from the Blind Citizens NZ of al eged unlawful discrimination under Part1A of the Human
Rights Act 1993. Both parties agreed to mediation. One of the key mediation outcomes was that AT
committed to considering on-bus stop audio announcements.
Post 2017, AT consulted with the Blind Citizens NZ and carried out international research and
customer testing into on-board audio announcements. Initial project work commenced in 2018, and
a wider project titled “On-Bus Connectivity” was approved by AT’s Executive and Chief Executive in
July 2021.
This wider On-Bus Connectivity project was initiated to address the Blind Citizens complaints, and to
improve overall customer experience, promote Te Reo, and to provide near real-time AT HOP top-
ups to the busses.
There was no other public consultation undertaken for the On Bus Connectivity project.
We trust this clarifies your request, but should you believe that we have not dealt with your request
appropriately, you are able to make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman in accordance with
section 27(3) of the LGOIMA Act and seek an investigation and review regarding this matter.
Ngā mihi,
Roger Jones
Exec GM Business Technology
