Intro
Welcome to Greater Wellington’s Cycling & Walking Journey Planner. This planner helps make cycling and walking even
more convenient by providing you with straight forward directions along a direct route from A to B. Whether you are a
seasoned or a novice walker or cyclist, planning a commute to work or a trip to the local shops or library, simply key
in your origin and destination and in seconds you'll have all the information you need about your particular journey!
You'll find out how long your journey will take, how hilly the trip is and get an estimate of how many calories
you'll burn! Detailed route directions are also provided in a print or email friendly format. The journey planner will
even provide you with the location of bike racks, drinking fountains, toilets and points of interest such as parks.
The Journey Planner data is based on road centre-line data from Terralink, supplemented by local road, track and
facility information. The success of the planner is the result of an ongoing, region-wide collaboration with many
territorial authorities and other information providers. In particular, the project team have been working with Terralink,
Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Upper Hutt City Council,
South Wairarapa District Council, Carterton District Council, Masterton District Council, Department of Conservation,
Westpac Trust Stadium, MAPsport Services and the region's orienteering community.
This is the first online cycling and walking journey planner to be developed in New Zealand. It includes a host of
features that have proved popular overseas. These features include:
- Suggests a route which is short, but avoids the hilliest terrain
- Route highlighted on a map and a clear set of directions provided
- Ability to zoom in and out of the map and overlay a satellite image
- Ability to click and drag your highlighted route to a different path
- Display of facilities such as street lights, toilets and bike racks
- Weather forecast for the part of the region you selected
- An altitude graph and calorie counter
- Ability to share your journey via email, Facebook or Twitter
Here’s a few tips on Getting Started.
F.A.Q.
How does the journey planner choose a route?
The route is selected by a search engine which compares the length of all the alternative roads and
paths between A and B. The amount of climbing is also taken into account, so you needn’t go over a large hill if a flatter
(albeit slightly longer) alternative exists.
What do I do if one of my addresses is not recognised?
The journey planner currently recognises specific street addresses rather than place names (i.e: 55
Cable Street, Wellington, not Te Papa Museum of New Zealand). If you do not know the exact address, either use the
Zoomin address finder or guess the closest address and then drag your route closer on the map.
Alternatively, you can put your cursor over the location you want and then press the right-mouse button to get options
for adding that location to one of the address fields.
How accurate is the journey planner?
Very accurate! It uses a combination of the latest GIS data from Terralink and local councils to create two individual
route data layers – one for walking and one for cycling. We’re grateful to Terralink, Wellington City Council, Hutt City
Council, Porirua City Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Upper Hutt City Council, South Wairarapa District Council,
Carterton District Council, Masterton District Council, Department of Conservation, Westpac Trust Stadium, MAPsport Services and the region's orienteering community for their data.
What are the limitations of the route data?
To make the route planner as practical as possible for commuting, off-road tracks that are
particularly rough, steep or narrow have been removed. A warning is given in the route description for other tracks that
are rough in certain weather conditions.
Private roads, paths or routes through buildings have not been included unless permission has been granted.
Route altitude data is based on spot heights along a 20 metre grid. Where the route goes between two points on this grid,
the altitude given on the altitude graph is only an estimate. This estimate can be significantly affected by very steep
terrain alongside the route, such as coastal escarpments.
The background map and satellite images provided by Google are a snapshot in time and will date. These are updated
periodically. A handful of road sections are missing and the occasional section of unformed legal road is shown. The
edges of the satellite images have been manipulated to match the map, and may differ from the more accurate GIS route
layers.
More accurate road and track data will be phased in on an ongoing basis.
You may find that road works, extreme weather, street carnivals or other events may cause conditions to differ from those
indicated by the journey planner results. You should alter your route accordingly. You must obey all road rules and
by-laws relevant to your route.
What do I do if I spot an error?
If you spot an error, or have any problem with our journey planner, we’d like to hear from you. Please
fill out a feedback form.
How is the journey time calculated?
This is the journey distance (in kilometres) divided by the speed of your mode for your given pace
(slow, average or fast). The speed estimates for walking and cycling come from the New Zealand Transport Agency and
Ministry of Transport.
Can I share my journey?
Yes. Just above the top right corner of the map there are several sharing options ranging from email
to Twitter. You can add notes to points along your journey before sending.
Alternatively, you can print your journey and share a hard copy.
Where does the weather report come from?
From Google. It is specific to the area selected in the location drop-down menu (top left).
For a more detailed forecast, go to http://metvuw.com/forecast/.
What style of map is best to choose?
The Maps’ drop-down menu (top-right) gives you three options: Maps, Satellite, and Hybrid.
If you are going to print the map on a low resolution or black and white printer, we suggest you use the simple ‘Map’
version. For a good idea of the scenery you will experience along your route, choose the ‘Satellite’ view. The ‘Hybrid’
view is a combination of the ‘Map’ and ‘Satellite’ views.
How does the calorie counter work?
The number of calories you burn is affected by your body weight, exercise time and exercise conditions.
The model is basically (weight × time × exercise_factor) where the exercise_factor is a ratio of exercise effort
(eg running is harder than walking).
When you select your journey the approximate time from this is calculated with your body weight and the mode/speed
you select to estimate the total calories you would burn if you took that journey.
How does the health savings calculator work?
These benefits are accumulated through the reduced risk of costly diseases, morbidity and early mortality associated with inactive lifestyles. It is assumed that you would be inactive if you did not walk or cycle this trip. Source: NZTA Research Report 359.
How does the vehicle cost savings calculator work?
We use the NZTA's standard motor running costs of 70c per km, cycling costs of 5c per km, and walking is of course free. The savings are compared to one person driving the same route. It does not include parking costs.
How does the carbon emission savings calculator work?
The Ministry of Transport estimates the average car engine being 2.2 litres. The savings are compared to a single person driving the same route in a 2007 2.2 litre Holden hatchback. Source: RightCar.
