Hawke's Bay councils praised for removing alcohol advertising from public transport buses

All bus shelters in Napier and Hastings will be free of alcohol advertising. Photo/ Supplied.

Buses and bus shelters in Hastings and Napier will no longer be a platform for alcohol advertising, in a bid to curb the region's hazardous and binge drinking rates.

Hawke's Bay's Joint Alcohol Strategy Reference Group, led by Hastings District and Napier City councils this year asked the Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) to consider removing alcohol advertising from its GoBay buses.

The regional council agreed and has since amended its advertising guidelines. Napier City and Hastings District councils also agreed to remove alcohol advertising from bus shelters in the two areas that they manage.

The reference group was set up by Hastings and Napier councils in 2013 to support their Joint Alcohol Strategy, which was reviewed and updated in 2017.

Neither council lost any money from the loss of alcohol advertising.

All buses and bus shelters in both cities have been free of alcohol advertising since August.

A HBRC spokeswoman said none of the 23 buses in its fleet have any alcohol ads at the moment and will not be accepting any in the future.

Auckland appeared to be the only other region in the country with a similar approach – undertaken by Auckland Transport.

The HBRC's transport coordinator Megan Welsby said its decision to review public transport advertising guidelines added to its efforts to promote wellbeing.

"We promote the wellness benefits of public transport as being a great way to get regular exercise by walking to and from the bus stop, and a great way to chill out and relax, so it was an easy decision to remove the advertising of alcohol from the back of our goBay buses."

The review was in conjunction with Go Bus Transport Ltd.

Membership of the reference group includes Hawke's Bay DHB, ACC, Community Action on Youth and Drugs, Directions Youth Health Centre, Health Hawke's Bay, New Zealand Police, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Te Kupenga Hauora – Ahuriri, and Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.

The group was pleased the regional council had taken the request seriously and had changed its bus advertising guidelines, saying such steps, however small, would help curb and change Hawke's Bay's hazardous drinking culture.

A Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship: Recommendations on Alcohol Advertising in 2014 found that restricting exposure to alcohol advertising and sponsorship might include delaying
the age the first alcohol is consumed, a change in cultural perceptions of alcohol and less positive expectancies around consumption, less harmful consumption patterns overall and reduced experiences of lifetime harm.

It also suggested potential economic benefits in terms of health and law enforcement cost savings as a result of reduced harmful drinking.