NLTP - National Land Transport Programme

10-year financial forecast

This 10-year financial forecast (as shown in Expenditure forecast) spans 2007/08 to 2016/17. The forecast sets out the revenue Land Transport NZ anticipates receiving, including regionally distributed funds, Crown funds, and its proposed allocation to activities through to 2016/17.

Overview

Land Transport NZ has assessed how this NLTP contributes to the aim of achieving a safe, responsive, and sustainable land transport system, and also assists economic development, assists safety and personal security, improves access and mobility, protects and promotes public health, and ensures environmental sustainability. The following paragraphs summarise the contribution made by the activities within the NLTP.

Safe

Continued funding of road maintenance ensures appropriate levels of service and safety can be delivered. Funding is provided for many road improvement projects, community focused activities and for walking and cycling projects which improve the safety of network users. Allocations within the NLTP also enable an increase in Police numbers increasing the focus on safe driver behaviour, and the use of safe vehicles.

Responsive

The allocations made to activities in the NLTP each year reflect the priorities given to different activities by Land Transport NZ and the priorities given by organisations to activities they submit for inclusion in the NLTP. For example, the allocations to passenger transport services have increased compared to those of the 2006/07 NLTP reflecting the priority given this activity by Land Transport NZ and the priority given by regional councils in their increased local share funding. Similarly the funding for walking and cycling has been increased due to the priority given this activity by Land Transport NZ and the increased number of proposals submitted by approved organisations.

Integrated

The NLTP is increasingly funding coordinated projects achieving a common aim. The construction of the Northern busway and the provision of bus priority lanes serving the busway stations is a current example of this. There is an increased funding for infrastructure which supports passenger transport services through the provision of bus priority lanes, park and ride facilities and terminals, and for walking and cycling. While the majority of funding in the NLTP is used for roading projects, the amount of funding to other projects specifically focusing on other modes of transport is increasing. In addition, the allocations for roading projects now increasingly provide funding for roadworks that support walking and cycling and support passenger transport. Allocations for local road improvements, and for local road maintenance, for example, are used to: provide and maintain on-road signage and road markings for bus lanes and cycle lanes; construct signalised intersections with bus priority signals; construct kerb extensions and pedestrian refuges as an integral part of roadworks.

Sustainable

The anticipated allocations in this NLTP match anticipated revenue for the NLTP and local share funding provided by local and regional councils for activities they deliver. The allocations made in this NLTP assist economic development, access and mobility and the other objectives of the Land Transport Management Act so contributing to the confidence Land Transport NZ has in the level of anticipated revenue being available over the 10-year period as forecast.

Anticipated expenditure includes significant allocation of funds to activities which reduce the potential adverse environmental impacts of transport, such as for the purchase of new passenger rail rolling stock in Wellington and the construction of bus priority infrastructure in Auckland.

Economic development

A considerable portion of NLTP funding assists economic development by improving travel times and by increasing the reliability of travel times. This is achieved through improvement to infrastructure and services for all modes of transport. Funding for both new roads and better management of existing roads increases road capacity so reducing travel times and improves the predictability of travel times. Development of bus priority measures and increased bus services also reduce travel and waiting times.

Access and mobility

The allocations in this NLTP contribute to increased access and mobility by increasing transport choice through increased funding of walking and cycling and of passenger transport, and through targeted funding for the transport disadvantaged through the total mobility scheme.

Public health

Funding for community focused activities and for improved infrastructure for active modes of transport protects and promotes public health. For example, funding for school travel plans promotes increased walking and cycling.

Environmental sustainability

The allocations for passenger transport services have increased by 17 percent between 2006/07 and 2007/08, and have an allowance for 20 percent growth in service levels over the 10 years of the forecast expenditure, at assumed rates of inflation. There is continued funding for travel behaviour change projects, including school and business travel planning and for minor roading improvements such as pedestrian refuges, or kerb extensions to improve pedestrian safety. Collectively these initiatives promote a transfer of travel from private vehicles to active modes, and to multi-occupant vehicles so reducing the discharge of contaminants from low occupancy private vehicles.

Continued funding is provided for active management of key routes and networks to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow so reducing vehicle emissions.

Before projects are funded their potential impacts on the environment are considered and suitable mitigation measures included in the project scope to litigate or eliminate potential negative effects. Examples include the use of noise barriers and low noise surfacing, the installation of swales and other equipment to trap water borne contaminants flowing off roads.

Safety and personal security

Land Transport NZ provides funding for network management activities. Local network managers routinely review the condition and operating environment on their networks. They implement specific interventions such as intersection improvements to address particular safety issues, and routine works such as resurfacing, when the condition of infrastructure is deteriorating and becoming unsafe. Funding for passenger transport interchanges and associated infrastructure also targets the personal security of users by, for example, providing adequate lighting and monitoring systems.

 

Page created: 26 June 2007