2020/21 has been a year of transition for Waka Kotahi. Our strategic and operating contexts are changing quickly and significantly. We need a strong direction and to provide leadership to the sector to deliver the best outcomes for New Zealanders.
To do this we developed Te kāpehu which sets out our direction and aspirations within the wider land transport system. It articulates what we want to achieve as an organisation, how we will go about this, and why we are here. Laying this solid foundation sets us up to deliver our ambitious work programme for land transport.
Our priorities come with new and diverse demands as we manage greater government expectations, new and existing commitments, as well as the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. To ensure we can respond to these demands effectively, our new Te kāpehu performance framework will help us to measure progress against the outcomes we want to achieve to keep Aotearoa moving. Te kāpehu is responsive to our changing operating environment and inclusive of our multiple roles as a steward of the state highway asset, investor, and regulator.
We’ve responded successfully to several setbacks and unexpected events this year. COVID-19 continues to impact our funding and delivery, but we’ve managed to maintain momentum with our projects and programmes of work including in our regulatory services and digital areas. Ongoing movement between alert levels caused a loss in public transport revenue. Several significant disruptions, including major weather events, also required our swift operational response. We partnered with local councils and communities, iwi and others to keep things moving after these events.
The final year of the 2018–21 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) concluded some major programmes of work, including the physical completion of all projects contributing to the Kaikōura earthquake recovery. We made good progress on the New Zealand Upgrade Programme (NZUP), with 10 significant capital projects having met year-end milestones and more either in the design or execution stages. We also partnered with local government to deliver over 100 projects across Aotearoa, including those completed under the Innovating Streets for People and Urban Cycleways programmes.
Te kāpehu commits us to new values and behaviours that will shape our culture and guide the way we work within Waka Kotahi and how we engage with iwi, partners, stakeholders and communities. We saw wider trust and confidence in our organisation improve this year, with Waka Kotahi being the second most-improved agency in the Colmar Brunton public sector reputation index.
We recognise that a distinct approach is needed to measure our effectiveness in working with and responding to Māori. Our new performance framework aims to identify specific actions to improve and help us achieve the vision of Te Ara Kotahi our Māori strategy.
We continued to work closely with stakeholders and industry partners and supported our delivery partners in response to the impacts of COVID-19. Together we progressed climate change initiatives under Toitū te taiao, our sustainability action plan. We delivered safety initiatives under Road to Zero the national road safety strategy. Local and central government are also looking to us for leadership in planning, investment and delivery, as well as support for whole-of-government initiatives. We have worked with a range of public agencies to understand transport’s potential to unlock wider outcomes.
At a regional level, we continue to work with local government, communities and businesses to support a variety of regional economic growth initiatives where transport can make a significant contribution. We have established a new regional model, which will strengthen our presence and improve our relationships in the regions. Our regional teams have worked closely with each region to support the development of their Regional Land Transport Plans, focusing on regional outcomes and reflecting the government’s priorities for a safer land transport system that offers greater travel choice and delivers better environmental outcomes.
We continue to manage the changing role and expectations of Waka Kotahi, including in the areas of climate change, rail and freight. Within this context we must plan and deliver maintenance works so people can reliably access social and economic opportunities while ensuring the safety and resilience of the network. Maintenance, renewals and our focus on retaining and enhancing the network come with challenges. The network is growing, with increasing activity and resilience events that we need to respond to. Maintaining and renewing the network in this construct will become increasingly challenging.
People are changing the way they work and move around. Use of public transport services still hasn’t returned to pre-COVID levels. More people are working from home and travelling less. These changes impact our revenue streams, including fuel excise duty and road user charges, and reduce the revenue into the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). Our expanding role and climate imperative also challenge our funding model. To fully meet the needs and ambitions for mode shift reducing emissions and adapting to climate change will require changes to current funding arrangements.
Waka Kotahi provided advice on the He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission transport recommendations. We highlighted the importance of urban form by ensuring sustainable access to transport networks and shifting to lower carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions. We continued working with local and central government agencies to promote integrated land use and transport planning. Together with our stakeholders we also invested in and delivered sustainable outcomes in public transport, walking and cycling.
