There’s a lot that Auckland Transport do that we criticise them for and I so always like being able to give them praise when they deserve it. As such this is just a quick post to say that I thought their communication on Thursday about the impacts of the severe weather were good – at least on twitter anyway.
It started right from early in the morning with this tweet
The bad weather has arrived take care on the roads. Taking the train could be the best option today
— Auckland Transport (@AklTransport) April 16, 2014
Most people who use PT often have a choice between PT and driving and when the weather is bad the first instinct can be to revert to using the car, especially if the car is parked in an internal garage. Of course when that happens the roads get even more congested so having congestion free options – the rail network, the Northern Busway and the few roads with bus lanes on them – becomes even more essential. The great thing about the reminder above is most people can probably remember times when they’ve been on the road in those conditions and the gridlock that ensued.
I know the thought of driving crossed my wife’s mind before reminding her of what the roads would be like. A others clearly went through the same thought process and the reminder was timely in enabling them to get around the city.
@akltransport Great advice to take the train today, thanks. I made it from Mt Albert to Glen Innes in under an hour door-to-door.
— Rhys Jones (@rg_jones) April 16, 2014
@TransportBlog full credit to @AklTransport for comms today re tamaki dr & for reminding about trains meant my wife got to work on time.
— Marc Proctor (@hornetfannz) April 17, 2014
And of course as expected the roads were madness, there were some horror stories out there of people taking multiple hours to drive around the city. This was especially the case in the eastern suburbs where Tamaki Dr was closed. Again on Tamaki Dr it seemed their communication was really good. This is just one of many tweets they had on the issue.
Please do not use Tamaki Dr there is flooding. There is debris on many roads, some traffic lights are out, conditions are bad, trains okay.
— Auckland Transport (@AklTransport) April 16, 2014
So for comms well done AT, you did a good job.
In saying this, it’s also worth thinking about why people changed their habits so much. One of the reasons is surely due to the lack of quality amenity at many train stations or bus stops. By that I mean the often appalling small and exposed shelters. Take my local station as an example (Sturges Rd). On both platforms there is only a single shelter with seating under it for about 10 people. That might be ok during off peak but in the mornings it’s common to see more 70 or more people waiting for the train (in the offpeak it’s not uncommon to see 30 people waiting for a train). On Thursday morning those people were all trying to cram under this single shelter and to get there they already had to dash across the open platform and access paths at either end.
Sadly most bus shelters are just as bad or in many cases probably even worse.
I realise there are a lot of competing priorities when it comes to PT funding but in my opinion providing better facilities would go a long way to improving the customer experience and would probably drive more patronage than $100 million spent on new park n ride facilities.
To end on a positive note though, my wife works in the Wynyard Quarter and until Thursday had always walked there from Britomart. She doesn’t mind if it’s raining lightly and had always ignored suggestions to catch the City Link bus as only every second one went there. However the weather on Thursday was pretty crazy and now that all City Link buses go to Wynyard it’s simplified the service and increased the frequency to the area so she gave it a go. In her words “it was a godsend”. A good example of how simplifying services and improving connections will get people using services.
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But doesn’t it sum up AT that they’re only pushed to recommend the train over driving because of extreme weather? Shouldn’t they always be recommending it?
Lets give them credit here. A couple of members of this blog have been lobbying AT in the past couple of weeks on twitter to do this. I think the fact they have listened and got credit for it, shows the impact positive lobbying can have
Yes, and I’m getting the distinct impression of some good changes happening within Auckland Transport. There appears to be a greater focus on communication and sweating the small stuff just recently.
Nick, I often get the same feeling about AT. It is a bit like the DHB attitude to mental health. Necessary but a nuisance and not very glamorous.
I’ve often wondered why the shelters at Auckland train stations are non-contiguous . My local station, Ellerslie, now has two nice platform shelters… but they are separate from each other, and also separate from the shelter over the platform access stairs. This then leaves the HOP readers exposed, so people have to queue in the rain to tag on, before walking through the rain to the shelter.
In a well-developed train system such as in Japan, this would be unthinkable. Even if the entire platform is not covered (which some outer suburban platforms are not), the initial area from the stairs always is. It’s just common sense. Can’t agree more that platform rooves would be a good use of AT funds.
Especially bad as this was all just recently redone, mostly as NZTA’s expense as they wanted the track move to allow more motorway widening (of course). I guess that also partly goes to explain why it’s suboptimal, AT doesn’t have the money and NZTA do it as cheaply as possible since their only priority are more roads not anyone on foot.
Glen, I understand there’s plans for starting work soon on the connection of the 2 shelters.
Great! Hope this happens at more stations.
I think it will be the access shelter connection and the connection of the 2 platform shelters. Onehunga is planned too I think.
they should put some shelter either side of Te Wero bridge for when people has to wait for boats to pass.
The shelter at Avondale, pathetic as it is, was no shelter, just a rain trap. On both the down and up lines, the shelters are orientated so that in the case of extreme easterly/westerly winds, like yesterday, they offer no protection whatsoever. These are not uncommon events. It’s something I drew to the attention of ARTA/KiwiRail during the consultation stage but obviously economic austerity is a far more convincing argument than the convenience and comfort of passengers.
Austerity gives the impression they actually have the choice. The fact of the matter is they had to cut a back on Avondale a lot due to funding shortfalls that occurred when National entered power and yanked funding. Other projects that at the time were unsure to be completed were Newmarket and New Lynn.
20-50 metre extension shelter on citybound platforms at stations with consistently high levels of boarding such as Sturges Road, Henderson, Glen Eden, Avondale, Baldwin Ave, Manurewa, Homai, Papatoetoe, Middlemore, Glen Innes and Onehunga, would go a long way to alleviating this problem. Such extension shelter is not expensive and installation network-wide could be completed within 18 months of construction start.
Existing shelter ‘gaps’ at Mt Albert, Morningside and Ellerslie for example, could be plugged relatively quickly and effectively with appropriate connecting shelter structures.
Implementation of extension shelter and connecting shelter at the aforementioned stations on the Auckland suburban rail network, does need to be made a priority for deployment during FY2015/2016 and have funds for other projects redirected to it. Its too late to do anything about it in this FY unfortunately.
Overseas, installation of extension shelter on rail station citybound platforms has dramatically increased service patronage numbers. In Tokyo for example, platform extension shelter work at 6 stations on the Odakyu Main Line in 2008/2009, saw a 75% increase in passengers numbers between 7 and 9am weekdays and 10am to 1pm on weekends.
Rail service usage behaviour in Auckland is no different to any other country when it comes to platform shelter – put in shelter extensions and plug shelter gaps and AT ‘will’ be rewarded with greater rail service passenger numbers. Its certainly manageable install cost-wise and is an excellent, measureable ROI.
Rob, I can’t agree more. Such simple jobs for a relatively small outlay deliver a significant increase in passenger amenity and pleasantness of experience. They really are the low-hanging fruit of public transport in Auckland at the moment. They will be a key test of Chairman Lester Levy’s determination to be more customer-focused. Here’s hoping the positive momentum Bryce P mentioned will continue.
On another topic – Rob, I’m fascinated by your figures re the Odakyu Line increase! Odakyu is (was already) one of the key transport arteries into downtown Tokyo from the west (so much so that they have massive tunnelling/overhead grade separation projects going on), I had the impression that they had already sweated the lineside catchment market. Do you have any useful weblinks?
Yes, Odakyu have put a lot of effort into grade separating and undergrounding stations – either side of ShimoKitazawa especially but it was the smaller stations mainly between Machida and Odawara where they found they could make improvements to passenger loading by extending the shelter there on citybound platforms.
The info I have comes directly from the Odakyu staff I worked with when (up until 2012) I was developing advertising campaigns for multinational clients focussing on key commuting routes in and out of Tokyo.
The Odakyu stations that had platform extension work done were:
SetagayaDaita – until the undergrounding work there was completed in 2013
Tsurumakionsen
Hadano
Zama, OdakyuSagamihara and Ikuta – patronage increases occured there after the citybound platform shelter was brought to same length as that on the outbound platform.
Although the extension work was done prior to 2008, it was patronage trends at YoyogiHachiman Station I was told, that prompted Odakyu to look at extending citybound platform shelter elsewhere on the network.
Rob, when the current AT CEO David Warburton started in his position and was shortly thereafter at the Baldwin St Station reopening he was quoted in the media that extending the platform shelters was something he wanted to be prioritised. Of course other infrastructure projects and renewals of stations like Mt.Albert have taken already allotted funding. The fact is when it comes to the Auckland rail network there is only so much funding to go around for competing projects, like gating, more ticket machines, platform extensions, Pukekohe electrification extension etc etc etc that Matt L alluded to. As you know I lived in Japan myself for a number of years and used Odakyu’s services between Odawara and Zama (ex gf lived near Zama Station) a number of times. They are a pretty decent-sized company and no doubt have a lot more funding open to them to carry out improvements than AT does. Nethertheless it would be interesting to follow up with Mr Warburton to see if he has any plans to push the extension of platform shelters. With the expected increase in pax due to the start of EMU services it will surely be something that is the focus of complaints if more people are left out in the rain. it’s the kind of thing that could put new pax off. It’s not only the ride experience that needs to be tip top. For the life of me I can’t understand why if AT don’t have enough funding they don’t allow more advertising inside the carriages along the top of the carriage walls ala Japan ( though probably not to the extent it is in Japan with the hanging adds they had (still have?) from a rod between the walls of each side of the carriage.)
Simon, I was in Japan last month and can report that hanging advertising in train carriages is still just as prevalent as ever. While AT might not want to go to that length right away, surely they could use some advertising in carriages, especially if it was ‘sold’ to passengers as finding improvements such as shelter lengthening? Maybe a short period after EMU introduction without ads, then a gradual ramp-up to a row of ads along the top of the carriage interior??
The current shelters being too short are a classic case of a lack of foresight for issues that will occur once the EMUs drive further growth and attract new passengers to PT. As we have been reminded of late, it rains in Auckland. PT needs to be able to cope in order to still be an attractive alternative to private cars when it’s raining.
As an aside, I’ve long been a fan of ‘nakatsuri’ (hanging banner ads), but they won’t work in Auckland – they’ll just get ripped down. As the AKL EMU interiors could well be kitted out with TV screens in the future, there’s no point at all in plastering the walls there with static banner ads. Better that AT develop a JR East-like ‘Train Channel’ for broadcast of service info, news headlines, weather, transit mode-specific promotional communications and where it fits, certain types of advertising.
Back on topic, investment in platform shelter that extends 20-50 metres out in a citybound direction from the current AKL suburban station buildings, achieves its ROI directly through increased passenger numbers at those stations, as I previously stated. I’m sure AT are aware of this and they are more than likely making plans over the next couple of years perhaps to implement shelter extensions as a follow-on to their platform extension work.
Some thought must be put into the extension canopy shelter design though, to mitigate the effects of year-round wind-driven rain as this seems to be particularly prevalent in NZ compared with Japan and Korea for example. It wont be a problem at certain side-platform stations like Sturges Rd, Glen Eden, Avondale, Baldwin Ave, Onehunga, Middlemore and Manurewa, where glass backs on the extention canopies can be installed as a wind/rain break but it will be a challenge at island-platform stations like Henderson, Glen Innes, Ellerslie, Papatoetoe and Homai. I understand that construction of island-platform canopy shelter that spans a decent width of the platform can become costly due to the amount of foundation work necessary to accommodate the canopy supports.
Do any readers of this blog have suggestions for extension canopy shelter at island-platform stations to mitigate the wind-driven rain issue – shelter structure that can cover a decent width of the platform, does not impede passenger flows, can withstand strong winds but does not require its supporting structure to be driven deep down into the platform surface?
Middlemore on Thursday was terrible. Probably 50 to 60 people trying to squeeze into the shelter. The shelter was leaking and is very exposed to wind and rail. AT seriously need to look at the shelter design.
Is there something seriously wrong at AT now? 35% of all the lights on the light stands at Middlemore station DO NOT WORK!!! Is anyone at AT checking station light lighting?
https://at.govt.nz/about-us/contact-us/feedback-form/
The long bridges at Papakura could do with shelter just like at Ellerslie
Auckland rains. Maybe someone has done a thesis about the reason for our built spaces continuing to deny that?
It rains and also gets bloody hot in the summer. Both these facts seem to be ignored, even by people with good ideas. e.g. at Brent Toderian’s talk last year when he complained about our ugly footpath verandahs. I agree they could be prettier, but removing them completely would just be stupid. Also the lack of shelters at many bus stops.
Another great post from this weekend. Yes, from my time regularly commuting on Auckland buses and trains, the lack of shelter from the elements was a big disincentive. For rail, providing shelter should aim to include a continuous canopy from the street to the platform, and pretty much all the way to perhaps a metre short of the train door. All very do-able although obviously needed a focused budget.
For buses, I think a much better study of prevailing winds at the main road-side bus stops….and shelter along the way to those bus stops (Symond Street overbridge a classic example). For suburban bus stops, where possible, more of those Adshel shelters. I know that in Wellington, and Dunedin for example, there always seemed to be a much greater prevalence of those little wooden or concrete block shelters with an opening into a space that had back and sides closed in. Plus a sheltered return across the part of the bus shelter facing the street. Perhaps just too much of a vandalism target in the larger metropolitan region of Auckland. With the new Auckland bus network, there will be more connections, and therefore more waiting at stops between legs. To get the new network to achieve its potential, I think it will be well worth some targeted investment to improve the amenity (including general weather-proofing) of the key bus stops.