By email
Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay
Pipitea, Wellington 6011
20 February 2019
PO Box 11646
Manners Street
Wellington 6142
File Ref: OIAP-7-9578
T 04 384 5708
F 04 385 6960
Gavin Middleton
www.gw.govt.nz
[FYI request #9288 email]
Dear Mr Middleton
Request for information OIA 2018-398
I refer to your request for information dated 20 December 2018, which was received by
GWRC on 20 December 2018. On 11 February 2019, we wrote to you advising that we
needed to extend the timeframe for us to respond to your request until 11 March 2019. You
have requested the following information:
“I request any reports, memoranda, emails, meeting notes, presentations, business cases,
proposals or other documents relating to any projected cost savings (or reduction in costs)
proposed to arise with the introduction of new contracts which came into effect in 2018.
I also request any budgets, requests, reports, memoranda, emails, meeting notes,
presentations, business cases, proposals or other documents relating to the actual cost of
introducing those contracts - including, but not limited to, the costs of additional
stakeholder/community/public engagement, staff time and expenses in managing
implementation of the changes, consultants engaged to review or manage the changes or their
impact, internally or externally prepared reports, additional communications or media
management or public relations costs, making changes to routes or timetables following the
signing of contracts, and the cost of receiving and managing feedback on the changes,
including the handling of complaints. Where possible, please break down the costs by the
categories identified above, and by any other logical categories.”
GWRC’s response follows:
The new contracts introduced by GWRC in 2018 were part of a wider transformation
programme to reform the way in which bus services across the region are delivered. The
contracts themselves introduced stronger performance measures and incentives on operators,
as well as substantially higher service standards and quality of buses than previous contracts.
Responsibilities for some functions shifted from operators to GWRC, such as ticketing,
branding and customer communications. The contracts were also premised on the basis of a
new bus network and timetables. Due to the overall objective of delivering an enhanced and
improved bus service, value for money was the focus of the tendering and negotiating process
for the new bus contracts, and not cost savings. Consequently reports and other documents
RESPONSE TO 2018-398
relating to projected costs savings were limited to the attached copy of Report RPE17.124
Procurement of Public Transport Services which was presented to Council in May 2017. This
report recommended to Council the preferred tenderers for the bus units which were being
tendered. The report is attached as
Attachment 1.
Further information about the contract tendering process, including the RFT documents and
other reports presented to Council is available via the following link:
http://www.gw.govt.nz/bus-contracts/
You will see that we have elected to withhold a small amount of information from Report
RPE17.124. The grounds relied on are set out below.
Negotiations
GWRC is currently in the process of negotiating the delivery of additional bus services with
bus operators. Certain information in the documents relates to matters that could have a
negative impact on GWRC’s ability to conduct negotiations if released. As negotiation on the
delivery of additional bus services is yet to be completed, GWRC considers that withholding
the information is necessary to enable it to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage,
negotiations.
This information has therefore been withheld from the document released to you in accordance
with section 7(2)(i) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (the
Act).
Unsuccessful tenderers
Information in the documents which relates to unsuccessful tenderers has been withheld.
Tender documents were provided to GWRC on a confidential basis. Therefore, this
information is withheld under section 7(2)(c)(ii) of the Act, as we consider that withholding
tenderer specific information is necessary to protect information that is subject to an obligation
of confidentiality and where making it available would be likely to damage the continued
supply of this information. Release of such information would negatively impact our
relationship with current and future tenderers, which would impact on GWRC's ability to get
the best possible value for money outcome from future tender processes. Such an outcome
would be likely to damage the public interest.
In addition, the information has also been withheld in accordance with section 7(2)(b)(ii) of
the Act, as releasing this information would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the
commercial position of those unsuccessful tenderers.
Evaluative material
Certain information in the documents relates to the commercial strategy of successful
tenderers. Therefore, this information is withheld under section 7(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, as
releasing this information would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position
of the tenderer.
RESPONSE TO 2018-398
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Legal advice
Certain information in the documents relates to legal advice that GWRC has obtained. The
legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege.
This information has been withheld from the document released to you in accordance with
section 7(2)(g) of the Act.
We have considered whether the public interest in the requested information outweighs
GWRC’s need to withhold certain aspects of the information requested. As a result, we do not
consider that the public interest outweighs GWRC’s reasons for withholding parts of the
information requested under the grounds identified above.
We have interpreted the second part of your request as a request for costs incurred by GWRC
for specific activities related to implementation of the recent bus changes in the Wellington
region. In summary, we understand that your request is for costs related to:
1. additional stakeholder/community/public engagement,
2. staff time and expenses in managing implementation of the changes,
3. consultants engaged to review or manage the changes or their impact, internally or
externally prepared reports,
4. additional communications or media management or public relations costs,
5. making changes to routes or timetables following the signing of contracts, and
6. the cost of receiving and managing feedback on the changes, including the handling of
complaints.
Due to the manner in which costs are accounted for and that our staff, contractors and
consultants undertake multiple tasks, we have had to group some of these activities together.
The following represents the costs associated with implementation of the recent bus changes in
the Wellington region. Note that we do not capture specific activities undertaken by staff and
it is not therefore possible to separate out time and therefore cost of staff time for these
activities. The costs are for the period 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2018.
Item Cost
(1 July 2017 to 31 Dec 2018)
1, 4
$3,962,827
3, 5
$3,796,684
6 $330,170
2
Not separately captured
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If you have any concerns with the decision(s) referred to in this letter, you have the right to
request an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 27(3) of the Act.
Yours sincerely
Greg Pollock General Manager, Public Transport
RESPONSE TO 2018-398
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