An MoU was signed between WellingtonNZ and Greater Wellington Regional Council to strategise on getting visitors to view using public transport as their first choice. Photo Credit: Adobe/Martin
WellingtonNZ and Greater Wellington Regional Council have signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the ‘Regional Public Transport for
Visitors Partnership’, which aims to make public transport more
convenient for travellers, in turn, to encourage visitors to take public
transport and reduce their carbon footprint.
This partnership between the two organisations, charged with
overseeing tourism and public transport, is part of a bigger plan to get
Wellington’s visitors to participate in the destination’s goals of
becoming carbon zero by 2050.
The partnership is the first agreement of its kind in Aotearoa, which
involves developing a strategy for visitors to use public transport as
their primary choice for travelling, starting with getting them on
Greater Wellington’s new Airport Express bus service in and out of town,
then building on that with other public transport services to key
destinations.
“We have shared beliefs and values, amongst that is addressing the
significant and devastating effects of climate change to create a
thriving region for all,” WellingtonNZ CEO John Allen says. “If we want
to truly capitalise on the vision of being a sustainable region, the
onus is on us to ensure visitors to the region are able to participate
in this goal and help them reduce their carbon footprint.”
The agreement will translate into leveraging every possible
opportunity to push travellers toward public transport. Policies and
solutions will be developed in collaboration with partners such as Te
Papa and Tākina Events to incorporate public transport tickets and fares
into Tākina Wellington Conference & Exhibition Centre, Te Papa and
elsewhere.
The Major Events Support Forum will also be established to ensure
public transport services are adequate in supporting large events.
“We want people to bring their bright ideas, their energy and verve
for life to Wellington, not their CO2 emissions,” added Allen.
Wellington has the highest number of residents per capita using
public transport in New Zealand, a good step towards climate change that
the two organisation hopes to impart towards its visitors too.
“It is imperative the two organisations work together on this,
because it will only be successful if we share knowledge and information
to bring everyone along with us,” said Greater Wellington CEO Nigel
Corry.
“We see this as an exciting opportunity to create practical services
and products that will enable us to apply our region’s climate change
commitments and allow us to lead the way in Aotearoa on how to get
everyone visiting here to help meet the challenge of climate change.”