Response to OIA 2020 072.pdf

By email
Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay
Pipitea, Wellington 6011
PO Box 11646
18 June 2020
Manners Street
Wellington 6142
File Ref:  OIAP-7-15309
T  04 384 5708
F  04 385 6960
Tony Randle
www.gw.govt.nz
[FYI request #12893 email]
Dear Mr Randle
Request for information OIA 2020-072
I  refer  to  your request  for  information  dated  26  May  2020,  which  was  received  by Greater
Wellington  Regional  Council  (GWRC)  on  26  May  2020.    You  have  requested  the  following
information:
“I am interested in the work and supporting calculations for the planned Fare Review
to be undertaken as part of the 2020/21 Annual Plan that I understand will shortly be
subject  to  a  short  public  consultation.  This  information  is  requested  to  support  a
possible  submission  on  the  fares  to  be  proposed  as  part  of  the  annual  plan  public
consultation and so provision of this information in time to be analysed and included
into a submission is an important element of this request.
1) Can I please have a copy of any reports, presentations or workshop material on the
proposed public transport fares since November 2019? Please include any appendices.
2) Can I please have a copy of any reports, presentations or workshop material on the
impact  of  the  proposed  public  transport  costs  on  fares  and/or  the  Farebox  Recovery
Ratio since November 2019 ? Please include any appendices.
3) Can I please have a copy of the detailed calculations used to support the Farebox
Recovery Ratios for the 2020/21 year ?
4)  Can  I  please  have  a  copy  of  the  detailed  public  transport  costs  used  in  the
calculation of the Farebox Recovery Ratios as outlined in 3) ?
5) Can I please have a copy of the detailed revenue estimates used in the calculation of
the Farebox Recovery Ratios as outlined in 3) ?
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6)  Can  I  please  have  a  copy  of  any  council  workshops  where  the  2020/21  Farebox
Recovery  Ratios  were  discussed  including  any  agenda,  workshop  attendees,  minutes
and presentation information ?
If the requested information is held in electronic form, I would prefer it was provided
in  its  complete  and  original  electronic  format.  I  would  also  prefer  that  all
correspondence be via the FYI web site.”
GWRC’s response is as follows:
The annual fares review for this year started in the second quarter of 2019/20 as part of the
Annual  Plan  process  for  2020/21.  The  review  involved  looking  at  the  past  performance  for
2018/19  and  a  preliminary  fare level  and  compliance  review based  on  the latest  patronage
and financial forecasts for the 2019/20 (current year) and 2020/21 (Annual Plan year).
The preliminary results were presented to a Council workshop on 26 November 2019 as part
of the Council discussions on budget for the 2020/21 Annual Plan. This was followed by some
background  analyses,  which  was  underway  until  the  Government  declared  the  state  of
emergency in response to COVID-19 pandemic from late March.
Given the  significant  impacts  that  COVID-19 has  had on  patronage,  fares  and fare  revenue,
the annual fares review has not been able to proceed any further until more is known about
the  extent  of  the  impacts,  possible  courses  of  recovery  from  the  pandemic  and  the  extent
and availability of the Government’s funding support for the foregone revenue.
Therefore  the  information  you  have  requested  is  only  available  until  the  end  of  February
2020.  Please  note  that  the  background  information  we  are  providing  to  you  as  part  of  this
response are working documents and the values contained in these documents are subject to
change.
We have provided you with the following information:
Council workshop material on public transport fares since November 2019
Attachment 1 is a copy of the fares related information presented to the Council workshop
on 26 November 2019 as part of this year’s Annual Plan process. The slides in Attachment 1
are  extracted  from  an  original  document  that  also  included  information  which  was  outside
the scope of your request.  The out of scope information has therefore been removed from
Attachment 1.
Please note that Council workshops do not have any formal agenda or minutes. Depending
on  the  subject,  presentations  may  outline  the  topics  for  consideration  by  Council  in  the
workshops.  No  agenda  or  minutes  have  been  recorded  on  the  subject  of  fares  review
presented to the Council on 26 November 2019.
As  the  Annual  Plan  process  progresses,  GWRC  constantly  updates  the  cost  and  revenue
forecasts for current year and the budget for next year. Therefore some values in Attachment
1 (from 26 November 2019) may not be the same as the values for the same variables in the
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background analyses provided in Attachments 2(a) and 2(b), which contain the latest updates
by end of February 2020. Some formulas have also been adjusted to balance costs with any
associated external or other revenue.
While values may change over time as a result of this updating process, the changes in values
generally do not significantly affect the overall outcomes.

Supporting cost and revenue information and calculations
Attachments 2(a) and 2(b) are electronic copies of the preliminary background analyses and
calculations  used  for  reporting  on  actual  ‘User  Contribution’  ratios  for  2018/19  and
projections for 2019/20 and 2020/21 under the current Long Term Plan.
The  background  analyses  include  details  of  the  actual  cost  and  revenue  information  for
2018/19,  forecasts  for  2019/20  and  the  budget  update  for  2020/21  based  on  the  latest
information available by end of February 2020.
Payments to the operators  have been withheld in accordance with section 7(2)(b)(ii) of the
Local  Government  Official  Information  and  Meetings  Act  1987  (the  Act)  as  releasing  this
information  would  be  likely  to  unreasonably  prejudice  the  commercial  position  of  the
operators or suppliers of this information.
The  payment  information  for  Electric  Fleet  Premium  is  subject  to  ongoing  contract
negotiations with operators. In accordance with section 7(2)(i) of the Act, withholding of this
information  is  necessary  to  enable  GWRC  to  carry  on,  without  prejudice  or  disadvantage,
negotiations with operators.
Accordingly, we have provided you with the requested information in two formats:
  Attachment  2(a):  is  an  electronic  copy  of  the  calculations  (with  the  actual  and
projected  cost  information  relating  to  contracts  deleted)  in  a  format  that  gives  the
formulae
  Attachment  2(b):  is  an  electronic  copy  of  the  calculations  (with  the  actual  and
projected  cost  information  relating  to  contracts  deleted)  in  a  format  that  gives  the
figures but does not give the formulae behind the figures
Please  note  that  with  these  formats  the  values  in  the  'Summary  Report'  are  affected  in
Attachment 2(a). This has occurred because the formulas in that part of the document rely
on  the  redacted  values  in  other  worksheets.  Where  data has  been deleted  from  a  cell,  the
value of the cell becomes zero; however any formula that uses the redacted cell will still be
visible in the formula bar.
We  have  considered  whether  the  public  interest  in  the  requested  information  outweighs
GWRC’s need to withhold certain aspects of the requested information.  As a result, we do
not consider that the public interest outweighs GWRC’s reason for withholding parts of the
documents under the grounds identified above.
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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

Scott Gallacher
General Manager, Metlink

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