Hon Mark Gosche
Minister of Transport
Bus and Coach Association Conference 2000
Tuesday 11 July 2000
Wellington
The Government’s transport strategy
Introduction
Kia Ora Koutou, Talofa Lava and Greetings to you all.
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.
Eight months ago, when I became Minister of Transport, I decided that I would use my first few months in office to talk
to as many people in the transport sector as I could.
I wanted to understand what the industry, user groups and those affected by the transport system thought were their
major problems.
I wanted to see that the Government policy would help them, and therefore ensure the transport industry supports the
well-being of every New Zealander.
Many people of widely varying backgrounds and interests, including people here today, have taken great pains to share
with me their views on the future of their sector.
I have been impressed at the widespread desire to see the transport sector plays an active and positive role in New
Zealand’s future development.
Today I want to tell you how we are beginning to put in place the building blocks that will support a world class
transport and distribution system.
Government transport policy
This Government wants to build a sustainable transport system.
What do we mean by sustainability?
A sustainable transport system is one in which passengers, workers and those coming into contact with transport
operations can expect a high level of personal safety.
A sustainable transport system is one that meets the needs of its customers, in a timely and cost effective manner.
A sustainable transport system is one in which investors and shareholders can expect a reasonable return on their
investments, through providing innovative services and infrastructure in the right place at the right time at the right
price, while providing rewarding employment for their employees.
A sustainable transport system is one that carefully manages its impacts on our air, water and land resources.
And a sustainable transport system is one that provides both mobility and accessibility opportunities to all those who
live in the society in which it operates.
None of these goals can exist in isolation.
A transport business that makes money through cutting corners on safety or through devastating the physical environment
is not sustainable.
A transport business that minimises its impact on the environment but cannot earn sufficient returns to support future
investment in infrastructure is not sustainable.
To reach our goal of a sustainable transport system, we must carefully balance the interests of safety, customer needs,
investment, the environment and social equity.
The Government has begun that task.
Safety
Transport safety is a high priority goal for this Government.
Our most immediate task is to continue to improve our road safety record. Over the last decade, the road toll has been
substantially reduced, but we are still well below the best results achieved by similar countries.
The Government has now made a series of decisions that will enable us to make substantial immediate improvements in road
safety, while we develop a more strategic approach.
From early 2001, 225 extra police officers will be working exclusively on road safety on the State Highways. These
officers will staff the new Highway Patrol, which is designed to provide a high profile police presence on the most
highly used part of the road system
We have almost doubled the amount of money going to community road safety initiatives, with particular emphasis on
initiatives coming from the Maori and Pacific Island communities.
Additional police resources will be put into breath testing campaigns, especially in rural areas.
The police will tighten the tolerances used in speed limit enforcement, and pay especial attention to the wearing of
seat belts.
New Zealand will join the Australian road vehicle crash test programme, so that consumers can have a better
understanding of the safety record of vehicles they buy.
Hidden cameras trial
At the same time, the Government has decided not to proceed any further with the trial of hidden speed cameras that has
been run in the Waikato for the last two years.
After two years, the results of the trial are insufficiently conclusive, and do not, in my view, provide an adequate
basis for either extending the trial or for adopting hidden cameras throughout New Zealand.
I believe that a higher and more visible police presence on the road network, together with the education measures that
I mentioned earlier, will be a more effective way to make a substantial and rapid reduction in the road toll.
Safety strategy to 2010
The Government is also considering a long term road safety strategy for the next ten years to 2010, which I plan to
release for discussion in the near future. This is an important decision affecting every one of us, and I am concerned
that all interested parties give it the attention it deserves.
The first key question in that strategy will be: What do we want the road toll to be in ten years’ time?
If we adopt world best practice as our goal, then we are looking at a reduction in our road toll from just over 500
deaths per year to 280 per year. That is no mean target when we also expect substantial growth in traffic over the same
period.
The second key question will be: How do we achieve our chosen road safety goal?
There is a wide range of possible options ranging from substantial increases in enforcement standards and activity
through enhanced and improved education programmes to a massive programme of road rebuilding and improved ways of
managing road infrastructure.
Each option has its costs, both social and financial, and I will be seeking wide community input into these issues
before the Government sets a long term direction.
Driver licensing
This Government inherited the new driver licensing process from its predecessor.
While the majority of parliament supported the overall aim of reforming the driver licensing system to improve road
safety, the Government is concerned that inflexibility and bureaucracy have generated a number of largely unnecessary
problems in some areas.
I am well aware that your organisation has a number of concerns about the process related to the passenger (P)
endorsements held by bus and coach drivers, and that you have proposed a number of changes to this process.
Once the driver relicensing process started, the opportunity to make any changes in the first year was very limited for
both legal and administrative reasons.
I have now instituted a review of the costs and management of the driver licensing system, including the compliance
costs associated with the (P) endorsement and the proposed data matching system.
That review is scheduled to be completed by October this year, and your views will be taken into close consideration.
Delivering services
The Government wants to see a commercial transport sector that is innovative in delivering products and services.
We want to see a sector that is responsive to its clients.
We want a transport sector that is competitive both within New Zealand and in the wider global transport system.
We want to see a transport sector that invests in its future, to support the future growth of New Zealand.
We believe that much of the New Zealand transport sector already meets these goals.
The aviation, maritime, rail and road transport sectors are an important element in economic growth.
This Government wants to support their success, and sees no need for further fundamental changes to the structure of
these sectors.
They are in the main working well.
Road infrastructure problems
It is a different story when we look at the state of our road infrastructure.
Our roads daily demonstrate that they are becoming inadequate for the task they are asked to do. The most visible sign
of this inadequacy is the traffic congestion in our major cities – one study estimates that Auckland’s congestion alone
costs New Zealanders, not just Aucklanders, some $800 million per year.
During the last decade road traffic in New Zealand grew by 4% a year. At the present rate of growth traffic volumes will
double in the next 18 years.
Road infrastructure problems are not limited to our cities. Some regional networks are having difficulty keeping pace
with the financial and operational demands of a growing and changing economy and society – dairying in Southland,
forestry in Marlborough and tourism in Coromandel or Northland put pressures on our roads that local communities
struggle to meet.
The need to upgrade and enlarge our road system is evident.
Yet, at the same time, some of our systems for road charging are reaching their limits.
Road infrastructure solutions
The Government’s manifesto set out a number of areas for road management and investment that we wanted to explore, and
my discussions with sector groups raised a number of other issues.
I believe from my discussions with a wide range of interested individuals and groups that there is a general consensus
that we need to change the way we manage and fund our land transport system. Many people believe that we need to find
better ways of charging for road use, and that some changes to management structures are desirable.
The last Government spent five years debating the issues but could not reach a practical solution to our road problems.
I believe that there is now a growing consensus that we can make pragmatic progress this year in three main areas:
We need to put in place systems to manage the external impacts of the road system, including improving safety and
environmental management and our public transport system. In doing this, we need to make it clear that road corridors
are for a wide variety of users, including pedestrians and cyclists. They, just as much as motorists, have a right to
use road corridors in safety.
Secondly, we need to examine the way in which we charge for roads. New technology now enables us to consider a wider
range of options within the present Road User Charges system. This could include the question of different levels of
charge for road friendly suspensions - an issue that I know concerns your organisation. We also need to consider whether
the present funding system can be made simpler, while retaining its basic principle of cost effectiveness.
We also need to consider whether our present management structures can be improved in a pragmatic and gradual way,
without generating any more of the upheavals that have characterised reforms in the past.
The road system has to be improved.
It is not just a matter of dealing with a few high profile road projects. We have to put in place a management package
that leads us to sensible investment and management decisions without the constant air of impending crisis that too
often seems to characterise land transport investment.
I believe that we have an excellent opportunity to do that this year, and I look forward to working with local
government and sector groups such as the Bus and Coach Association to achieve that goal.
Environment
New Zealand relies heavily on its “clean green” image to market itself in a world that is increasingly concerned about
the environment. Those of you who are tourist operators will know how important overseas visitors to New Zealand rate
this issue.
Improving the reality of our environment to match the marketing image is a high priority for this Government, and the
transport sector will play an important part in that task.
Before the end of this year, the Government expects to put in place new emission standards for all vehicles arriving in
New Zealand for the first time. We need to make sure that all imported vehicles – whether new or used – meet the best
international practice for air emissions.
We are moving to improve public passenger transport in our major cities, recognising that an important benefit of such
an improvement can be a reduction in vehicle emissions.
I also believe that we need to review those sections of the Resource Management Act that deal with land transport. I can
see no valid reason why roads and railways should be exempt from the air emissions requirements of that Act.
We are also working on new rules to govern smoky road vehicles. While the intent of the current law is a good one, its
administration is unreasonably complex, and plans for a simpler, more pragmatic approach to dealing with smoky vehicles
are well advanced.
Scientific research into the impacts of land transport on water runoff is also well underway, as is research into the
impacts of noise on communities.
Kyoto Protocol
The Government has decided to accede to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change in the second half of 2002.
This means that we will be making a commitment that by 2008 we will have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions to no more
than they were in 1990.
This is no small task.
Currently the transport sector generates about 15% of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The bulk of those
emissions are CO2 generated by the burning of fossil fuel on our roads.
This means that we are going to have to make a serious effort to improve road vehicle fuel efficiency.
We will certainly need to ensure that our vehicle fleet reflects the latest propulsion technologies as soon as they are
available. The new vehicle standards I mentioned earlier will encourage this.
We will also have to make a major effort to reduce traffic congestion in our major cities. Congestion is not only
expensive in terms of slow deliveries or lengthy travel times – it is also our most inefficient use of fuel.
If we reduce congestion we not only get a more efficient economy – we also reduce the emission impacts on the
environment and cut the production of greenhouse gases.
Making progress on climate change is a high priority for the Government, and I plan to work closely with the key groups
in the sector. If we work together in a pragmatic way, I believe that we can both meet our environmental goals, while
making more efficient use of our transport system.
Social equity
Transport is not just about mobility. It is also about accessibility.
If the design of a transport system excludes significant numbers of New Zealanders from access to social and economic
opportunities, then the transport system cannot be sustainable.
While our freight transport system generally provides a good quality of appropriate service throughout New Zealand, that
is certainly not yet the case for passenger transport.
New Zealand is second only to the United States in terms of cars per person. Yet we often forget that many New
Zealanders still have levels of accessibility to social and economic opportunity that rely on a public transport system
that has been slowly running down for the last fifty years.
We have to have a better public transport system.
As part of the Budget, I have already announced a series of immediate measures to begin the improvement of public
transport in New Zealand.
The artificial limits on public transport spending imposed by the last Government have been abolished.
From October this year, we will put in place a new system of funding that pays money to Regional Councils in direct
proportion to the patronage of public transport in their region. At this stage it seems likely that there will one rate
for off peak passengers and another for peak travel.
Transfund New Zealand is reviewing the rate at which financial assistance is given to Regional Councils, with a view
to increasing the share of funding from the National Roads Fund, thereby releasing additional regional funds for further
passenger transport service improvements.
Current requirements for cost effective expenditure will be kept in place.
We estimate that if Regional Councils seize these opportunities, as we expect they will, passenger transport funding
from the National Roading Programme will rise from $46 million last year to $93 million in 2003, with large benefits in
terms of accessibility in our major cities.
This total includes provision for the major share of the funding for the North Shore Busway, currently the largest
single passenger transport project in New Zealand, which will provide greatly improved passenger transport services
across the Auckland region.
New funding system
I am aware that the Bus and Coach Association has expressed a concern about the details of the new policy.
The detailed operation of the new funding system for passenger transport services is now being developed by Transfund
New Zealand through a working group that includes a representative of your organisation, and I stress to you the
importance of your full involvement in this process at a very early stage.
There are major issues involving accessibility in our large cities that I want to see tackled as soon as possible and I
want both operators and Regional Councils to see this new policy as a major opportunity for action.
The sooner it is in operation, the sooner we begin to tackle the problems.
Longer term review of passenger transport
The Government is also reviewing the future of other elements of passenger transport funding, including the future
management and funding of the Total Mobility scheme.
In conducting this review, I am particularly concerned that we focus on the actual needs of people in society.
While our mass transit systems clearly need development, I am also concerned that we have tended to overlook the
importance of those services that provide door to door service.
Taxis and shuttles provide a crucial level of service to many in our community who do not have access to cars, in a way
that buses, trains and ferries will never be able to do. I want to ensure that we make better use of such door to door
services in the future.
Bringing it all together
If the transport sector is to support a positive future for New Zealand, then we have to work towards a sustainable
transport system.
Uniting all the elements that I have discussed into a comprehensive package that sets a clear path for the whole
transport sector is a complex exercise, but one to which we are committed.
The Government intends to develop a New Zealand Transport Strategy to bring together all the issues I have discussed
today into a comprehensive package that will give certainty for future investment and development.
The New Zealand Transport Strategy will have to set long term directions in terms of safety, environmental performance
and accessibility. It will emphasise that the core issues of investment and innovation will depend on a commercially
focussed transport and distribution sector that will thrive by providing high quality service to all its users.
Conclusion
I said at the start of my speech that I spent the first few months of my time as Minister of Transport talking to a wide
variety of groups in the transport and distribution sector and in the community at large.
While I believe that we can now move forward to tackle the key problems that face us, you should not take my desire to
get things done as a statement that I no longer want to talkor listen to people.
As is evident from the range of issues that I have covered in this speech, there is a lot to do. This Government wants
to work with the key interest groups to make progress in transport, and that means ongoing dialogue is vital.
I firmly believe that change is necessary in a number of key areas in the transport sector. I also believe that any
change must be progressive rather than an upheaval, and that evolutionary change can only work if people talk to each
other to find pragmatic solutions.
I look forward to working with you on this process, and I wish you a successful conference and thank you for this
opportunity to speak.
ENDS