12 August 2019 
 
 
 
Tony Randle 
[FYI request #10740 email] 
 
REF: OIA-5440 
 
Dear Tony 
Thank you for your email of 14 July 2019requesting the following information under the Official 
Information Act 1982: 
1) a copy of any reports or presentations that include the predicted travel times 
for the proposed mass transit vehicles at peak and off-peak times be provided? 
2) a copy of any reports or presentations that include the predicted travel 
schedule for the proposed mass transit vehicles at peak and off-peak times be 
provided? 
3) a copy of any reports or presentations that include the predicted mass transit 
station dwell times for the proposed mass transit vehicles at peak and off-peak 
times be provided? 
4) a copy of any reports or presentations that include the predicted speeds for the 
proposed mass transit vehicles at peak and off-peak times be provided? 
The characteristics of mass transit assumed for evaluating the LGWM Recommended 
Programme of Investment and Indicative Package are outlined in the document ‘Wellington 
Light Rail; Public transport network integration concept’. This includes predicted travel times and 
speeds for mass transit vehicles. Your request for this information is refused under section 18(d) 
of the Act as the information requested is publicly available. 
In summary these characteristics are: 
• 
‘Metro style’ service 
• 
10km route from Wellington Station to Airport 
• 
Between 10 to 12 stops, widely spaced 
• 
Little to no mixing with traffic and buses: permanent, physically separated dedicated 
lanes  
• 
Parking removal, traffic lane reductions 
• 
Pre-emptive traffic signal priority 
• 
50kph running speed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Based upon these assumptions and benchmarking against existing metro-style mass transit 
networks with similar characteristics, an average travel speed of between 25 to 30kph between 
Wellington Station and Airport (including dwell times) was considered be plausible, with the 
upper end of this range (30kph) assumed for the purpose of modelling the impacts of mass 
transit.  
More detailed work, undertaken at the next stage of investigations, is required to refine the 
assumptions and provide more certainty regarding mass transit travel speeds and dwell times. 
Consideration of timetable schedules and differences between peak and off-peak operation will 
also be covered during the next phase of work. 
Your requests for the predicted travel schedule and the predicted mass transit station dwell 
times for the mass transit vehicles are refused under section 18(e) of the Act, as the document 
alleged to contain the information requested does not exist. 
Further technical documents about mass transit are available on the Let’s Get Wellington 
Moving website at: https://getwellymoving.co.nz/about/documents/technical-
documents/#MassTransit.  
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision. 
The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
Andrew Body 
Programme Director, Let’s Get Wellington Moving Alliance 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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