Questions and Answers on the New Zealand Transport Strategy

NEW ZEALAND TRANSPORT STRATEGY 2008

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the New Zealand Transport Strategy 2008?

• The New Zealand Transport Strategy 2008 (NZTS) sets out a plan for the whole transport sector in New Zealand to 2040, introducing defined targets and actions to achieve the targets for the first time. The Strategy covers transport for people and for freight, and includes all parts of the sector - road, rail, maritime and aviation. .

Who is the NZTS for?

• The NZTS is a government strategy and is part of the government's sustainability agenda. It recognises that other areas of government activity and policy influence transport and have a role to play in the delivery of transport outcomes and targets. Equally, the transport system needs to contribute to achieving targets and aims set out in other key government strategies like the New Zealand Energy Strategy.
• The NZTS, however, is a strategy not just for government. By setting out the government's long-term intentions for the transport sector, it is also intended to provide guidance and help decision-making in local authorities, private companies and other key players within the sector. Ultimately, achieving the vision and targets within the Strategy will also require the involvement and support of individuals in the choices they make on a day-to-day basis.

Is it statutory?

• The NZTS is non-statutory, though it will be given effect to by statutory documents such as the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport Funding (GPS).

What's the timescale?

• The NZTS provides strategic direction for the transport sector and a framework for transport decision-making for the next 30 years to 2040.

Does it replace the 2002 Strategy?

• Yes, the NZTS replaces the original NZTS from 2002.

How is it different from the 2002 Strategy?

• The original NZTS did not contain targets, which made it difficult for the transport sector to determine what the transport priorities were and where central government was likely to focus its investment in infrastructure and services. By contrast, the NZTS is a target-led strategy. By identifying the key targets for 2040, the Strategy defines what is important and what is needed to succeed. We have also identified seven key components or strategic priorities for action.

How was the NZTS prepared?

• The NZTS follows a discussion paper Sustainable Transport published in December 2007, which was used to generate stakeholder feedback. The discussion paper set out the issues facing the transport sector, proposed a range of targets for identifying and measuring progress, and discussed some of the options for achieving the targets. Stakeholders and the public were asked for their views both on the targets themselves and on the best way they might be achieved. This information was then used to inform the drafting of the NZTS.
• In addition to this feedback, the Ministry of Transport (the Ministry) utilised New Zealand monitoring and trend data, input from other central government agencies, research from New Zealand and overseas, modelling, and professional knowledge and judgement in preparing the NZTS.

What does the NZTS cover?

• The NZTS contains three parts.
• Part A is the core strategy, and contains:
  • a vision, transport objectives, transport outcomes and targets (Chapter 1)
  • key challenges (Chapter 2)
  • key components or priorities for action (Chapter 3). 
• Part B provides further guidance for transport agencies and contains:
  • a more comprehensive account of actions required to deliver each objective (Chapter 4). This includes the key components, but also other day-to-day activities of transport agencies.
  • supporting actions (Chapter 5). These are the actions by government and others that will improve knowledge and allow the development of better strategic approaches to transport delivery.
• Part C sets out the monitoring, research, evaluation and review arrangements (Chapter 6).

What are the overall messages within the Strategy for the transport sector and New Zealanders as whole?

• The government's vision for transport in 2040 (amended slightly from 2002) is that: 'People and freight in New Zealand have access to an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system.'
• A set of 15 targets has been agreed which will allow progress towards this vision to be measured and define the priorities for the transport sector. The targets are challenging but achievable.
• Business-as-usual will not get us to where we want to be in 2040 (ie the successful delivery of all the targets). Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and congestion have increased in recent decades. Safety has levelled off, and we are highly dependent on imported fossil fuels which are getting more and more expensive. Gradual, but accelerating, change is needed to achieve the vision and targets.
• This change will need to be from a combination of technological developments and behavioural change. Neither on its own is likely to allow all the targets to be achieved - together they can.
• Travel demand management will be extremely important in the future. Otherwise, New Zealand is unlikely to be able to afford the costs of infrastructure associated with demand growth and will struggle to meet environmental targets such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Government has a key role in making this change happen through regulation and enforcement, provision of infrastructure and services, economic instruments and education. The balance between these different types of intervention will change over time, depending on the speed of progress.
• Achieving the targets relies, however, not just on government but on all parts of the transport sector. Choices made by individuals (eg when and how to travel) and businesses (eg how to move freight) are vital.
• A key aim in developing the NZTS over such a long period of time (to 2040) is to provide stability and greater certainty to the private sector, so they can have more confidence in making critical investment decisions.

Have the objectives changed since 2002?

• The objectives are the same as the 2002 strategy. They are:
  • ensuring environmental sustainability
  • assisting economic development
  • assisting safety and personal security
  • improving access and mobility
  • protecting and promoting public health.

Which are the priority objectives for the transport sector?

• All of the objectives are equal - the targets sit across all objectives and they must all be achieved by 2040. However, we need to move faster - sooner in the area of environmental sustainability, as we are furthest behind in this area (particularly relating to climate change).

What are the outcomes of the NZTS?

• The outcomes provide more detail on each objective for the transport system that we would like to see by 2040. They are used principally to enable Crown entities to link their Statements of Intent to the NZTS.

What are the transport targets?

The transport targets are as follows:

Targets in the New Zealand Transport Strategy 2008

• Ensuring environmental sustainability
  • Halve per capita greenhouse gas emissions from domestic transport by 2040.
  • Increase coastal shipping's share of inter-regional freight to 30 percent of tonne-kilometres by 2040.
  • Increase rail's share of freight to 25 percent of tonne-kilometres by 2040.
  • Become one of the first countries in the world to widely use electric vehicles.
  • Reduce the kilometres travelled by single occupancy vehicles, in major urban areas on weekdays, by ten percent per capita by 2015 compared to 2007.
  • Reduce the rated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per kilometre of combined average new and used vehicles entering the light vehicle fleet to 170 grams CO2  per kilometre by 2015, with a corresponding reduction in average fuel used per kilometre.
  • Increase the area of Crown transport land covered with indigenous vegetation.
• Assisting economic development 
  • For identified critical routes:
    - improve reliability of journey times
    - reduce average journey times.
• Assisting safety and personal security
  • Reduce road deaths to no more than 200 per annum by 2040.
  • Reduce serious injuries on roads to no more than 1,500 per annum by 2040.
• Improving access and mobility 
  • Increase use of public transport to seven percent of all trips by 2040?(ie from 111 million boardings in 2006/7 to more than 525 million boardings in 2040).
  • Increase walking, cycling and other active modes to 30 percent of total trips in urban areas by 2040.
• Protecting and promoting public health
  • Reduce the number of people exposed to health-endangering noise levels from transport.
  • Reduce the number of people exposed to health-endangering concentrations of air pollution in locations where the impact of transport emissions is significant.

 

Is this a complete and final list?

• Not all important areas of transport activity or outcomes currently have a target, generally because of insufficient data. Developing targets in these areas is a priority for the Ministry as, without a target, they risk being overlooked. The Ministry expects to complete this work in the next two years.
• In addition, some of the current targets are not SMART  and are difficult to measure (eg those on noise and air pollution). The Ministry intends to improve these targets over the next two years to make them SMART. The decision to include them at this time is to provide an indication of what is considered a priority.

Are all the targets expressed to 2040?

• Two targets are expressed to 2015 (SOV and vehicle emissions targets). The rest are targets for 2040. Of these, only one (the CO2 target) has an interim milestone. It is important to know whether we are on target before we get to 2040. We therefore intend to develop interim milestones for as many targets as possible by 2010.

The NZTS contains just national-level targets. Will targets be developed at a regional level?

• Some of the national-level targets in the NZTS need to be regionalised to reflect the fact that regions are very different in character (eg in how urban or rural they are and whether public transport is likely to provide a viable alternative to car use). Many regions already have their own set of regional targets developed prior to the publication of NZTS. In the future, central and local government will need to work together to agree a finalised set of regional targets through a process of negotiation and agreement. These finalised regional targets will then need to be confirmed in the first of the new 30-year Regional Land Transport Strategies that are to be prepared under the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008.

Are there targets in the GPS?

• The GPS contains six short-term targets to 2015. These are:

Targets within the GPS

• Reduce kilometres travelled by single occupancy vehicles, in major urban areas on weekdays, by 10 percent per capita by 2015.
• Increase the mode share of transporting freight by coastal shipping and rail by 2015.
• No overall deterioration in travel times and reliability on critical routes by 2015.
• Reduce fatalities and hospitalisations from road crashes by 2015.
• Increase patronage on public transport by three percent per year through to 2015.
• Increase number of walking and cycling trips by one percent per year through to 2015.
• The GPS targets are interim targets that will contribute to the achievement of some of the NZTS targets. 
• It is important to note that some targets in the GPS use different indicators to the target in the NZTS they are contributing to. This is because the GPS target may only represent part of the activity required to achieve the NZTS target. For instance, the GPS target for public transport is to increase the number of people using public transport. In the longer term, the focus will shift to increasing public transport's share of all trips (the desired outcome) which will also be affected by changes in use of other modes.
• The GPS targets will also need to be regionalised. This is a process that New Zealand Transport Agency will lead in consultation with key stakeholders including the Ministry.

Is there scope for other agencies to set targets outside the Strategy?

• To maintain a strategic focus, consistency within the sector and increase the likelihood of achieving the targets set out in the NZTS, it is important that all transport targets are linked to the NZTS. Our aim is to have one comprehensive target framework that clearly shows what the transport priorities are and how success will be measured. The Ministry appreciates that some agencies will currently have targets that sit outside the NZTS's framework. However, over time, these targets will need to align with the NZTS to avoid confusion within the sector and maintain the clarity and purpose within the document.

What are the key challenges?

• A number of important challenges face the transport sector. These are:
  • responding to climate change
  • energy security and cost
  • funding of investment in infrastructure and services, while keeping transport affordable
  • increases in the environmental and social impacts of transport
  • changing demand arising from the ageing of the population
  • land-use development and its impact on transport demand
  • global terrorism.
• These challenges are often outside the direct control or influence of the government, but may have a profound effect on transport in New Zealand in the future and could affect the delivery of the targets.

What are the key components of the Strategy?

• These are the seven areas of action or interventions that require more emphasis in the future if we are to achieve the targets. They could also be called our strategic priorities for intervention. They are the things we need to 'do more of, do better or do for the first time'.
  The key challenges are:
  • integrated planning 
  • making best use of existing networks and infrastructure
  • investing in critical infrastructure and the transport sector workforce
  • increasing the availability and use of public transport, cycling, walking, and other shared and active modes
  • considering options for charging that will generate revenue for investment in transport infrastructure and services
  • using new technologies and fuels
  • maintaining and improving international links.
• Together with the targets, the key components provide the transport sector with an indication of what the transport priorities are.

What about important areas of activity within the transport sector that are not identified as a key component of the Strategy?

• Not all the activity within the transport sector has been included as a key component. The key components contained in the Strategy have been selected because they are the ones most likely to assist the transport sector in meeting the key challenges and targets.
• If an area of activity has not been identified as a key component, this does not mean that it will not be undertaken in the future or that it is not important. Rather it is likely that current activity levels to implement the component are adequate and/or that that activity is a lower priority at this time. Priorities will be reviewed in the future and may change if more progress is being made in some areas than in others.

How are these other areas of activity reflected in the NZTS?

• Chapter 4 sets out the strategic approach to delivering each objective. These include actions that are key components, but also other areas of activity that are not key components but are still important. Chapter 4 therefore covers, at a high level, all activity within the transport sector.

How will the NZTS be implemented?

• One of the features of the land transport sector is that much of the decision-making over specific activities on the ground is made by local authorities that prepare long-term Regional Land Transport Strategies and three-year Regional Land Transport Programmes. Private sector decisions also play a major role in defining and creating transport infrastructure and services in New Zealand, particularly in the maritime, aviation and freight sectors as well as public transport. The Strategy has been developed to increase the level of certainty and long-term stability within the sector, which will help private companies to invest with increased confidence.
• The government has produced a Government Policy Statement that sets out broad funding levels and policies for the next six years (with funding forecasts for years 7-10). In addition, a three-year Action Plan will be developed by 31 March 2009. This will set out actions in areas other than funding that will support the delivery of the NZTS targets and will identify the target dates, lead agencies and specific deliverables.
• The Action Plan will identify where additional more detailed strategies are required to support the NZTS. Examples of such strategies already in place include Sea Change (the government' strategy for coastal shipping) and Getting there - on foot, by cycle (the government's strategy for walking and cycling). Some of these existing strategies will be updated now that the NZTS has been published, and other new ones will be required.
• The NZTS also identifies a number of other supporting actions that will aid the delivery of its targets, to be undertaken over the next three years. These are set out in Chapter 5 of the document and will be included in the Action Plan in March 2009.

The role of other central and local government agencies

• It is however important to recognise that most delivery will lie with other agencies. Local authorities have a particularly important role to play in planning and delivering transport within their localities. Regional Land Transport Strategies and Regional Land Transport Programmes will set out key implementation proposals at the regional level.
• The New Zealand Transport Agency will prepare three-year National Land Transport Programmes which will give effect to the GPS. Regional Land Transport Strategies and Programmes will be a key input into the NLTP.
• In addition, Statements of Intent for the transport Crown entities such as the New Zealand Transport Agency, Maritime New Zealand, and the Civil Aviation Authority; and State-owned enterprises such as ONTRACK and Kiwirail, will also contain much of the detail of how the NZTS08 will be implemented and should be considered alongside the GPS and NZTS08 Action Plan.

How will progress against the NZTS be monitored?

• Monitoring of the NZTS will be done using the Transport Monitoring Indicator Framework (TMIF). This has been set up by the Ministry of Transport to provide a single point of reference for all transport sector monitoring information. It will be used to collate and present data collected by other agencies as well as by the Ministry. The TMIF will be used to monitor progress against the NZTS and GPS targets, but also to understand and measure wider transport trends. Indicators within the TMIF are organised by objective and sector outcome.
• To enable regions to measure their own progress, the Ministry is further enhancing the TMIF to provide regional, and potentially sub-regional, monitoring information.

What are the implications of the NZTS for transport research?

• A considerable amount of research has informed the development of the NZTS. However, further research is required in the future to improve our knowledge and evidence base on the transport challenges, as well as how best to address them and deliver the targets. Some of the research required is included as specific supporting actions in Chapter 5, but there is a lot of research required that is not specifically identified in the NZTS.
• In order for gaps in our knowledge and evidence base to be filled as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, future research decisions will increasingly need to be informed by the strategic approach set out within the NZTS. This implies a co-ordinated and 'strategy-led' approach to research by the Ministry and the Crown entities. To this end, the Ministry has committed to reviewing the research strategy by 2009. The new strategy will set out the research priorities for the future.

Is there any intention to review the NZTS to allow for a change in priorities and targets?

• We intend to comprehensively review the NZTS on a six-yearly basis. Over six years some of the government's core assumptions about global challenges (eg price of oil) may have changed and better information will also be available on a range of factors from technological improvements to progress against the targets. 
• However, because of the gaps in the target framework there is a need to complete the first full review of the NZTS in the next two years rather than six. This will allow us to fill gaps in the targets and undertake more collaboration and sector engagement than was possible for the preparation of the NZTS.
• In addition, every three years the government will release a new GPS identifying the funding priorities for the next six years. The Ministry will release a revised action plan for the NZTS at the same time.

How will the transport sector be involved in the delivery of the NZTS?

• The Ministry is determined to involve the wider transport sector both in the delivery of the actions within the NZTS, and in the monitoring and review of the document by 2010. To aid this process of collaboration with the sector, options for sector engagement are currently being assessed. The new arrangements will cover the NZTS as a whole as well as the specific projects and actions that come out of it. Further details will be announced in the near future.