Project background
The Waikato Regional Transport Model (WRTM) seeks to create a shared transportation model for use across the Waikato region.
A major transport survey is being undertaken to help determine how $4.4 billion worth of roading funds will be spent over the next decade. The information gathered will be of both national and regional significance, given the very high traffic volumes that flow through and within the Waikato.
The data collection will involve:
- roadside interviews with motorists at survey sites around the region from 11-14 February and 25 February to 13 March
- videoing of licence plates of vehicles passing six of Hamilton’s bridges at different times over one day, with follow-up survey forms sent to around 36,000 owners (there will be a $500 cash prize draw as an incentive to return forms)
- having 2000 people keep a daily travel diary during May
- interviews with public transport users later in 2008.
The WRTM is being developed now so it can incorporate the social and economic data gathered during the recent 2006 Census. It will be used to forecast travel demands based on changes in land use, household structures and car ownership.
The project will look at the impact of current and predicted traffic flows on existing routes and major projects such as the Waikato Expressway, Te Rapa Bypass, the Kopu Bridge and other planned improvements. It will also provide a passenger transport planning tool to improve bus timetabling and assess new bus routes, particularly within Hamilton city.
The Waikato region is part of a growth triangle that includes Auckland and Bay of Plenty. Transport infrastructure development is therefore crucial to both national and Waikato economic growth, road safety and meeting social needs. We need to get a very clear picture of how and why people are travelling to help set priorities.
In a collaborative approach, the project is being led by Environment Waikato, Transit and Hamilton City Council with contributions from the Waikato, Waipa, Matamata-Piako, Taupo and Thames-Coromandel district councils. Land Transport NZ is supporting this project, with over 70 per cent of the project costs coming from central government.
Travel survey
Roadside interviews will be carried out from 11-14 February and 25 February to 13 March at sites across the Waikato region. Motorists will be asked to stop at clearly marked and policed survey sites and some will be asked to spend a few minutes answering questions about the trips they have made that day, where they came from, where they are going and the route they are taking. Participation in the survey is not compulsory, although stopping at the survey site is.
The project partners will be working with police to ensure that any disruptions to motorists are kept to a minimum.
The information collected will be treated with confidentiality. All information will be merged with that of other survey participants, and no information will be released that could identify an individual.
More information
You can read the media release on Household surveys on Waikato transport on this website and download the pamphlet that was sent out to survey households in pdf format below:
Waikato Household Travel Survey: examining travel patterns in the Waikato region
(994 kb, 142 seconds to download, 56k modem)
For further information please call the project freephone 0800 958 687.