Penalties, admonishments, warnings, or other actions taken by ECan against bus operators
Cody C made this Official Information request to Canterbury Regional Council
The request was successful.
From: Cody C
Dear Canterbury Regional Council,
Please provide the following information for the period from 1 January 2022 to the present regarding public bus operators contracted by ECan:
1. A detailed list of all penalties, admonishments, warnings, or other actions taken by ECan against bus operators.
* Include the date, nature, and reason for each penalty or action.
* Specify whether the penalty was financial, contractual, or otherwise.
* The specific reasons for these penalties or actions, broken down by category, including but not limited to:
a) Service delivery failures (e.g., missed trips, late services, or failure to meet schedule adherence requirements).
b) Breaches of safety regulations or operational standards.
c) Customer complaints leading to formal remedial actions.
d) Instances where the actions or omissions of bus operators brought ECan or the public transport service into disrepute, such as public complaints, media reports, or incidents resulting in reputational harm.
2. Copies of the relevant sections of contracts with bus operators outlining:
* Performance benchmarks and standards.
* Enforcement powers, including penalty clauses.
* Provisions related to reputational harm or misconduct.
As penalties, admonishments, or reputational concerns regarding contracted bus operators should be rare, I expect that collating this information will not require substantial time or resources.
Yours faithfully,
Cody C
From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA): Request for information
I refer to your email dated 16/1/2025.
As you might be aware, LGOIMA applies to all requests for information that we receive. We are able to respond immediately to some requests, but in instances where we need to collate information we do so and respond in accordance with our specified process.
Under LGOIMA, Environment Canterbury has 20 working days to respond to your request. Your request has been passed to the person(s) responsible for responding and you will be contacted as soon as possible but no later than 14/2/2025.
Your LGOIMA reference number is 2993C.
Ngā mihi
Environment Canterbury
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From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
The Public Transport team has reviewed your LGOIMA request (attached) and
has determined the following refinement.
We understand your request to focus on formal penalties, admonishments,
warnings, or other actions that have been issued to bus operator over the
past two years. This would constitute our use of formal contractual
mechanisms aimed at achieving desired outcomes from our operators. This
excludes day-to-day informal performance management communications.
‘Informal communication’ would require the substantial collation and
research through 25,000+ emails and we would therefore need to refuse this
part based on section 17(f) of the Local Government Official Information &
Meetings Act 1987.
Ngâ mihi,
Environment Canterbury
LGOIMA
[1]Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury
PO Box 345, Christchurch 8140
[2][ECAN request email] Customer Services: [3]0800 324 636
24 Hours: [4]0800 76 55 88
[5]ecan.govt.nz
[6]Facebook [7]Twitter [8]YouTube
[9]Instagram
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
2. mailto:[ECAN request email]
3. file:///tmp/tel:0800324636
4. file:///tmp/tel:0800765588
5. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
6. https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentCant...
7. https://twitter.com/ECan
8. https://www.youtube.com/user/ECanGovt
9. https://www.instagram.com/environment_ca...
From: Cody C
Dear LGOIMA,
Yes - that is what I am looking for on element 1 of the request. I would still require element 2.
Yours sincerely,
Cody C
From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
Thank you for your response. This email is to notify you that the new due date for a response to your request will be 25 February 2025.
Kind regards
LGOIMA Team
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From: Cody C
Dear LGOIMA,
Is this request on track for a response on, or before, 25 February?
Yours sincerely,
Cody C
From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
We are currently working through your request and will provide a response to your request by 25th February.
Kind regards
LGOIMA Team
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From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody,
Please find our extension request attached.
Ngā mihi,
Environment Canterbury
LGOIMA
[1]Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury
PO Box 345, Christchurch 8140
[2][ECAN request email] Customer Services: [3]0800 324 636
24 Hours: [4]0800 76 55 88
[5]ecan.govt.nz
[6]Facebook [7]Twitter [8]YouTube
[9]Instagram
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
2. mailto:[ECAN request email]
3. file:///tmp/tel:0800324636
4. file:///tmp/tel:0800765588
5. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
6. https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentCant...
7. https://twitter.com/ECan
8. https://www.youtube.com/user/ECanGovt
9. https://www.instagram.com/environment_ca...
From: Cody C
Dear Giles,
You have waited the maximum permissible period for refining a request, then waited the maximum period for providing an initial response, then have requested a further extension purportedly to enable consultations.
With respect, it was entirely foreseeable that consultation with bus operators may have been required at the time of the original request being made. So, why did this not happen 26 business days ago?
Yours sincerely,
Cody C
From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
We have established that your reason for seeking urgency is valid.
Currently, we are consulting with the operators, and we have received
feedback from one operator. A meeting with the second operator is
scheduled this afternoon. Our PT team member can prioritise your work and
will provide the information by close of business on Monday 3 March, and
if possible, earlier.
This should allow time for you to meet your deadline of 5 March.
Ngā mihi,
Environment Canterbury
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From: Cody Cooper <[1][email address]>
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 10:51 AM
To: Stefanie Rixecker <[2][email address]>
Subject: RFI on penalties, admonishments, warnings, or other actions taken
by Environment Canterbury against bus operators
You don't often get email from [3][email address]. [4]Learn why this
is important
Caution: This is an email from an external party. Please take care when
clicking links or opening attachments.
Good morning, Stefanie.
RE: Email dated 16 January 2025 requesting information on penalties,
admonishments, warnings, or other actions taken by Environment Canterbury
against bus operators from 1 January 2022 to the present date.
ECan has waited the maximum permissible period for refining a request,
then waited the maximum period for providing an initial response, then
requested a further extension purportedly to enable consultations with bus
operators.
As I outlined to Giles on 24 February, it was entirely foreseeable that
consultation with bus operators may have been required at the time of the
original request being made. I asked why this did not happen, then, 26
business days ago. Giles has elected not to respond.
On the face of it, this appears to be deliberate obstruction by ECan to
inhibit this information being released. Further, this should not require
substantial collation given that - I would hope - there should be
relatively few admonishments. Lastly, this information should be readily
available given recent media and public interest.
Actions requested
I am now making a request under Part 2, Section 10(3) of LGOIMA to provide
this information under urgency as the information requested is required to
enable a fulsome response to Christchurch City Council’s consultation on
the Oram Avenue bus layover which closes 5 March.
If I have not heard back from you by close of business 2 March, I will be
requesting an immediate review via. the Office of the Ombudsman.
Regards, Cody Cooper
LGOIMA
[5]Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury
PO Box 345, Christchurch 8140
[6][ECAN request email] Customer Services: [7]0800 324 636
24 Hours: [8]0800 76 55 88
[9]ecan.govt.nz
[10]Facebook [11]Twitter [12]YouTube
[13]Instagram
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
5. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
6. mailto:[ECAN request email]
7. file:///tmp/tel:0800324636
8. file:///tmp/tel:0800765588
9. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/?utm_source=ema...
10. https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentCant...
11. https://twitter.com/ECan
12. https://www.youtube.com/user/ECanGovt
13. https://www.instagram.com/environment_ca...
From: LGOIMA
Canterbury Regional Council
Kia ora Cody
Please find our response letter and the following documents attached:
o LGOIMA 2993C - Instance and Balance based KPI’s.xlsx
o Tab1: Monitoring Database
o Tab2: Excel missed trips
o Tab3: Balance Scorecard (BSC) deductions
o LGOIMA 2993C – Safety breaches in Complaints and Incidents DB’s.xlsx
o Tab1:Feedback Database
o Tab2: Incident Database
o Chch – UA_Performance Regime_Redacted.pdf
o Timaru – Performance Regime_Redacted.pdf
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Ngâ mihi
Environment Canterbury
LGOIMA
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