Our scoring process

Vote Climate has been asked how it rated candidates.  We have made some general guidance here.  Below is a breakdown of the question ranking process by each ask.  We will not be accepting any more survey results but will be posting on our social media any candidates that sign up and send in a photo.  See below on how to do this. 

Our Questions

Ask 1: More public transport, more often

We asked candidates to tick the following statements they could commit to:

For this ask, the candidate had to commit to Statement 3 (“Work to ensure that public transport runs all day, every day, even if passenger numbers are low.”) AND one other statement to get a “yes” ✅,  otherwise they got a “no” ❌

Reasoning

To make public transport an attractive and everyday choice for Kiwis, we must design the service well by making them reliable, fast, and frequent. Currently, short car trips under two kilometres make up nearly a third of all car trips, more than a billion trips each year – that's 12 short trips per household per week, on average. People often prioritise using cars because they are able to use them at any time, and because they allow them to take direct routes to where they want to go. For public transport to be an attractive option, it needs to be: 

• Frequent - to allow people the choice of arriving when they need to 
• Run outside of rush hours - to allow people to carry out errands, or multi-destination trips 
• Reliable - so people can trust that they will have the option of using public transport when they need it. 
  
  

Ask 2: More affordable public transport

We asked candidates to tick the following statements they could commit to:

For this ask, the candidate had to commit to Statement 3 (“Support these goals, even if ticket revenue does not cover the costs of operating our public transport system.”) AND one other statement to get a “yes” ✅,  otherwise they got a “no” ❌

Reasoning

Public transport is a public good, and it shouldn’t depend on profit to continue to run. As the first Emissions Reduction Plan stated, “the only effective way to reduce New Zealand’s emissions from transport is for New Zealanders to drive less.” We can only get to this point if we offer affordable, equitable alternatives for people. 

We realise that some candidates may feel that Statement 1 -  “support and, if I have the opportunity, vote for half-price or preferably free public transport.” - is outside of their remit, so this was not set as a requirement. 

Ask 3: Safer walking & cycling

For this ask, the candidate had to commit to Statement 1 (“Prioritise protected cycleways over on-street car parking on arterial roads”) AND at least two other statements to get a “yes” ✅,  otherwise they got a “no” ❌

Reasoning

In this question, we were wanting to see clear commitment to making the streets accessible and attractive to people using active transport methods, not just car-users. Our streets and cities are currently designed around cars, which makes it seem like cars are the better option - but that design was a choice, and we can make other ones. To make cities that are easier, safer and more appealing for walkers and cyclists requires intentional design. 

We chose Statement 1 as the compulsory choice because it’s the one that reflects what realistic climate action needs to look like. We know that we can’t continue to sustain our current high-emission lifestyles, and we need candidates who understand this. We want candidates to show that they will choose more sustainable solutions over initiatives that may still be popular, but ultimately destructive (such as incentivising cars with carparks!).

Ask 4: More inter-city and regional public transport

We asked candidates to tick the following statements they could commit to:

For this ask, the candidate had to commit to Statement 1 (“Vote in support of opportunities to invest in inter-regional and inter-city public transport services”) AND at least two other statements to get a “yes” ✅,  otherwise they got a “no” ❌

Reasoning

For a small country, we rely quite a lot on flights to get around! This doesn’t have to be the way, though - and can’t continue to be the way as we navigate the climate crisis. Flights are a very carbon-intensive way to travel, particularly for short trips. The same holds true for private vehicles.  We need to invest in public transport services that will provide a competitive alternative to flights and private vehicles - and we are looking for candidates who are committed to paving the way towards this. Climate change is a complex and tricky problem, but we have the solutions we need available to us. What we need now are candidates who have the political will to go beyond making incremental changes and make the urgent systemic changes that are needed. 

 

Getting on the candidate page

If candidates want to appear on our site then they can do the following:

• Download the Vote Climate commitment here
• Complete it and take a photo of your self with it
• Send the photo to [email protected] with your social media details
• We will post it up and make a profile for you on our website that will appear in the candidates page

If you have any questions please email us at [email protected].