Workplan and Conclusion - Understanding Transport Costs and Charges Phase One Summary Report

30. The Phase 1 report states that a critical success factor for an effective work plan is that costs and charges information is collected in the correct sequence so that conclusions can be drawn as early as possible.
     
31. The comparable evaluation framework for collection and estimation of costs and charges information is of highest priority and is required before any information can be collected. It should, therefore, be completed first. This framework will allow the costs and charges within each transport mode to be collected and compared consistently and correctly.
     
32. In terms of costs and charges information, the Phase 1 report has the following recommendations:
    • Freight and public transport end user charges can be collected first (and while the framework is being completed) because this information is observed and does not require a large framework prior to information collection. This information can provide the first step in carrying out modal comparison analysis.
    • The maritime transport industry estimates should be completed before other transport modes due to the lack of costs and charges information for this sector. This information can be used to compare with information currently available in the other transport modes to allow early conclusions to be drawn.
    • Selected case studies should be completed after the collection of other costs and charges information to understand the marginal costs of transport to the correct level of segmentation. The case studies can also collect any residual costs and charges information gaps that could not previously be collected due to methodological constraints.
    • Collection of costs and charges information should be grouped into broad areas (such as externalities and end user charges etc) so that the methodology is used consistently within the broad areas to ensure robust conclusions can be drawn.
       
33. The Phase 1 report notes that throughout Phase 2 of the project, further work is needed to: 
    • develop more detailed specifications of the costs and charges information and the segmentations required before it will be possible to judge the efficiency of providing the data
    • conduct further consultation to confirm whether stakeholders are willing to provide the identified information at the level of segmentation and detail required
    • access the relative need for collecting information gaps that are particularly difficult or expensive to collect. 

The way forward

34. The Ministry will consider the recommended work plan proposed in the Phase 1 report and make necessary amendments to fully account for budget and resource constraints. Throughout the process of Phase 2, the Ministry will closely monitor its progress. It will continue to assess any needs to make neccesary refinements to the scope of the project and the level of segementations. This will help ensure information gaps that are of high policy importance can be filled in an efficient and practical manner.
     
35. As the information requirements spread across different modes and topics, it may not be realistic to expect all information identified in the Phase 1 report to be collected under the UTCC project. It may be more effective for the NZ Transport Agency to collect certain items under its research programme. The Ministry will work closely with the transport sector to ensure information is collected efficiently and to avoid duplication of data collection.
     
36. An indicative immediate action plan for 2008/09, in order to achieve the targeted completion date by December 2010, is provided in Table 1 below.

Concluding remarks

37. Following the release of the Surface Transport Costs and Charges (STCC) report in 2005, the Ministry received several major criticisms of the STCC study. The source of these criticisms came mainly from misperception of the defined objectives and scope of the study; misinterpretations of results, and unwarranted comparisons between modes. The UTCC Project will address these issues by:
    • completing a detailed comparable consistent evaluation framework for estimating costs and charges
    • continuing to carry out consultation with government policy and industry stakeholders in the transport industry.
38. The UTCC Phase 1 only provides a work plan for updating our knowledge in transport costs and charges for the three transport modes. Actual data collection and analysis is yet to be conducted. As there is a vast amount of information to be collected or estimated, the success of this project will depend on the level of cooperation and collaboration both within the Ministry and with our key stakeholders and information providers. The Ministry looks forward to working with the transport agencies and industry to complete this important task.

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