Transport network optimisation

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2. National context

There is now a robust legislative and policy framework to support sustainable transport in New Zealand via the Land Transport Management Act (2003) and the New Zealand Transport Strategy (2002). For example, the NZTS has five objectives:

1. Assisting economic development
2. Assisting safety and personal security
3. Improving access and mobility
4. Protecting and promoting public health
5. Ensuring environmental sustainability.

More recently, the uNZTS has proposed targets and indicators for New Zealand which will help to determine whether implementation of the strategy is occurring and at an appropriate rate.

Land Transport NZ has identified 13 trends as indicators of progress towards better transport. These trends cover all aspects of land transport: infrastructure, behaviour, vehicles, links with land use, rules, the private vehicle fleet and the commercial and freight fleet. Land Transport NZ states that it will know that progress is being made towards sustainable and safe land transport when:

• Development patterns of towns and cities reduce the need for people to travel.
• Development of towns and cities, design of networks, and operating rules provide a safe and convenient environment for walking, cycling and other personal travel options.
• More people choose active modes of transport.
• People drive in a way that uses less energy and is safe in the conditions.
• Fatal and serious injury crashes reduce.
• People use private vehicles less at congested times.
• Traffic flows more efficiently with greater reliability on the road network.
• The availability and use of shared transport, passenger transport and services for the transport disadvantaged increases.
• The proportion of business and household expenditure on land transport reduces.
• The commercial and private vehicle fleets become more energy efficient, safer and have improved environmental performance.
• Commercial transport operators adopt management practices that promote safety, use less energy and reduce emissions, noise and vibration.
• A higher proportion of freight is carried on rail and coastal shipping.
• The freight industry productivity improves.

These trends are evident in places, but are not yet widespread in New Zealand. For these trends to take hold, a paradigm shift will be required. A variety of changes will be required to create a truly optimal transport system. Considerable new motor vehicle capacity is currently being provided and planned, making it easy for many people to continue driving for most trips.

The focus will need to shift from building more capacity (through the creation of new roads or the continual “improvement” of individual intersections or corridors) to managing or reducing demand for travel. In addition, emphasis will need to be placed on managing existing road capacity more efficiently and improving alternative modes, telecommunications and freight delivery systems.

The uNZTS proposes a number of targets. For example, public transport’s mode share for peak hour travel in the three main cities (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) should increase from the current average level of 9% to 20% by the year 2040. Walking and cycling in urban areas are targeted to nearly double from 17% to 30% by the same date. The distance travelled by single occupant motor vehicles is targeted to reduce by 10% on weekdays by 2015 in an effort to reduce congestion and fuel consumption.

The effects of transportation on the environment are becoming increasingly apparent. The uNZTS notes that transportation currently contributes 18% of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the government proposes to reduce per capita GHG emissions from domestic transport by 50% by the year 2040.

There are many other targets for improving the transport system in the uNZTS, including increasing the proportion of domestic freight tonne kilometres carried by rail from 18% to 25% and by coastal shipping from 15% to 30%. Demand management on the road network can be assisted by better use of these modes, as they can make a meaningful contribution for the transport of both freight and passengers.

The government is working on a “Next Steps Review” project to develop a Government Policy Statement (GPS) on transport and the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill, both targeted for July 2008. In a recent update [12], the Ministry of Transport noted that:

“The work of the project team developing the GPS is focused on the following themes:

• achieving progress on the priorities and targets within the uNZTS and monitoring work to achieve these;
• change in funding allocations will be gradual, recognising the expectations that have been created by past policy decisions and the long lead time for projects;
• the GPS will stress the importance of combining land use with transport development in an efficient and sustainable way;
• with the shift to more targeted regional programme development, there will also need to be a continued focus on our national networks; and
• moving over time to a situation where individual users face the costs of their transport choices more directly.”

Transportation systems are already changing, although progress will be incremental rather than sudden. Strategies will need to be developed to reduce private car use and help meet the targets of the uNZTS. New Zealand will need to make better use of existing transport infrastructure and rely less on new capacity than has previously been the case.

Government transportation spending is at record levels, with $24 billion programmed under the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) over the next 10 years. Current annual NLTP expenditure is $2.1 billion, up by 118% in the past five years (2002 to 2007). Road expenditure in New Zealand is currently increasing at five times the rate of inflation and is predicted to continue outstripping inflation for many years under “business as usual”.

Total travel (“vehicle kilometres travelled”, or VKT) by motor vehicle is expected to increase as the population increases, but the challenge will be to restrain or even reduce per person VKT. Increases in VKT are likely to put the country’s roading network under increasing stress, especially in the more congested cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Tauranga.

The Ministry of Transport’s Surface Transport Costs and Charges Study of 2005 found that cars, trucks and buses paid between 56% and 68% of their costs, based on analysis of 2001-02 data. There has been some debate about the validity of these figures and further work is underway, but it is fair to say that the full costs of road-based motor vehicle travel are not paid by users.

Other parts of society therefore cross-subsidise motorised travel in New Zealand. Other costs not borne directly by cars, trucks and buses include health, pollution and climate change. Some of these are not paid at all (yet); others are picked up by the health sector and ratepayers (property owners through their property taxes). Reducing or eliminating cross-subsidies to these modes would provide better pricing signals to support more sustainable transport choices.

New Zealand may be able to position itself more competitively in the global market by having smaller cities where walking, cycling and buses provide ample travel choice without the need for much more expensive light or heavy rail systems. Auckland is of such a geographic size and elongated shape that rail is necessary, and Wellington is fortunate in already having significant rail infrastructure.

Other cities may, however, be much better placed with the cheaper and more flexible option of buses, supplemented by comprehensive efforts to support walking and cycling. Christchurch, Tauranga, Hamilton and Dunedin (and other smaller cities) should be able to avoid the considerable investments needed in rail and position themselves competitively compared to Auckland and Wellington, and especially when compared with the large Australian cities. Travel costs for individuals (and their local, regional and national institutions) will be cheaper in these smaller cities as fuel prices continue to increase.

Part of the solution to network optimisation will need to be improvements in the integration between land use and transport planning. Too little consideration of transport implications has historically been taken in land use and development decisions, resulting in low density settlements and urban sprawl that is difficult and expensive to service with the more sustainable travel modes – walking, cycling and public transport.

The population densities of New Zealand’s cities vary considerably. Auckland City, which is fully developed, has around 1,200 persons/km² while Christchurch City’s density is about 240 persons/km², reflecting its large hinterland of rural land. Greater Wellington’s constituent cities vary from 620 persons/km² for Wellington City to about 260 for Lower Hutt and Porirua, and to only 70 for Upper Hutt. Even the most fully-developed of New Zealand’s cities have low population densities by international standards, however.

Much work has recently been done at a national level to improve the relationships between land use and planning through the Integrated Approach to Planning and other initiatives. There are now opportunities for action at the local and regional level. These are discussed further in Section 6.

 

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Page created: 9 October 2008