Several organisations across Tauranga have signed up to the Greater Tauranga Travel Pledge, as members seek to improve the region's problematic roading situation.

All three major regional councils – Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Tauranga City Council – are reported to have signed up to the pledge.

They are joined by the likes of employers the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Fulton Hogan, Trustpower, and Zespri as well as public organisations such as Priority One, Tourism Bay of Plenty and University of Waikato.

Tauranga has one of the highest rates of private car use in Australasia and traffic flows have been increasing by up to eight per cent each year, according to GTTP.

'The Tauranga City Community Carbon Footprint found transport makes up 61 per cent of the city's carbon footprint, of which 97 per cent comes from road transport,” reads a GTTP statement.

The group claims that modelling completed in 2018 suggests if Tauranga was to achieve similar mode of transport shares as Wellington, there would be around 50 fewer premature deaths per year.

This would be associated with changes in air quality, road safety and levels of physical activity.

In addition to these environmental and public health implications, traffic congestion is a significant concern to Tauranga residents and businesses alike – a fact made clear by 98 per cent of the Tauranga population stating traffic is a problem in the 2020 Quality of Life Survey.

The GTTP, along with the organisations that signed up, aims to address these issues by investigating and implementing flexible working arrangements where practicable for their organisation, enabling active forms of transport for both staff commutes and work-related travel and implementing other opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint relating to commuting.

'It's hard to find anyone that thinks the current situation is good,” says GTTP organising committee chair Jeremy Levy.

'By working together, we amplify the impact of every initiative.”

Any business that wants to take the pledge can join the GTTP grouping.

'We are open to all organisations that are willing to commit to being part of the solution,” says Jeremy.