The National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) contains all the land transport activities, such as public transport services and road construction and maintenance, which are expected to receive funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Waka Kotahi is responsible for allocating funding to land transport.
The 2008/09 NLTP sets out the significant transport issues facing land transport and lists the transport activities that have been given funding from the National Land Transport Fund and also those that may be funded during 2008/09. It sets out forecasts of anticipated expenditure and revenue over 10 years.
Land Transport NZ’s statutory functions include the promoting of land transport sustainability, promoting safe transport, and funding research, education and training (RET) activities, as provided for by section 69 the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA). In addition, section 21 of the LTMA provides for Land Transport NZ to approve funding for RET activities up to a maximum amount that has been approved by the Minister of Transport for the programme.
In accordance with these legislative provisions, Land Transport NZ has, for the first time, developed a full RET programme for the 2007/08 year.
All of the activities in the RET programme have been planned by Land Transport NZ, are in alignment with strategies already developed or being developed, and are to be delivered by external parties under contract to Land Transport NZ.
The LTMA specifies that the programme must be approved by the Minster of Transport, that it must be published in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), and that it is subject to compliance with the procurement procedures specified in Section 25.
A summary of the allocation for the RET programme for 2007/08 is contained in table 1 below.
| RET category | 2007/08 funding |
|---|---|
| Research | $4,470,000 |
| 2007/08 new projects | $2,025,165 |
| Committed funding | $1,353,150 |
| RIMS group | $150,000 |
| Directed research | $771,685 |
| Research programme management | $170,000 |
| Education | $20,189,100 |
| Existing activities | $17,093,100 |
| New activities | $3,096,000 |
| Training | $1,052,500 |
| Existing activities | $410,000 |
| New activities | $642,500 |
| 2007/08 RET programme total | $25,711,600 |
The research aspect of the RET programme has a strong strategic context and programming history. It is the research programme through which Land Transport NZ commissions innovative research that contributes towards making New Zealand’s land transport system more integrated, safer, more responsive and sustainable. The research is contracted out to external researchers in accordance with Land Transport NZ’s Research Strategy under the key topic areas of asset management, natural hazard risk management, safety and personal security, environmental effects, travel behaviour change, traffic management and sustainable land transport.
Research programme funding allocations are made against these seven key topic areas. A target allocation for each is determined by the Land Transport NZ Board and published in Land Transport NZ’s Research Strategy. Allocations for the 2007/08 year against the targets are provided in table 2 below. Directed research funding will target gaps in the key topic areas.
| Key topic area | Target allocation (% of funding) |
2007/08 funding allocations (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Asset management | 30-40 |
39 |
| Risk management | 1-5 |
6 |
| Safety and personal security | 5-15 |
15 |
| Environmental effects | 15-20 |
8 |
| Travel behaviour | 10-25 |
15 |
| Network management | 5-15 |
8 |
| Sustainable land transport | 10-25 |
9 |
The NZ Transport Agency research strategy and funding process can be viewed here.
The education and training components of the RET programme are a collection of activities from a range of other programmes along with some new initiatives to address the wider objectives of the NZTS. These activities are managed by Land Transport NZ, are national, and are contracted out to external service deliverers. They include national advertising on land transport-related issues, national promotion of walking and cycling and other land transport-related issues, nationally managed school-based education on land transport issues, and other land transport education and training eg, professional development support associated with community-focused activities, bursaries for post-graduate studies, and support of land transport-related academic programmes. (Community programmes, which are managed and delivered at the local level by approved organisations, are now included in the main NLTP.)
Some education and training activities in the RET programme, such as the University Masters and Bachelor degree programmes, were historically funded as part of the research programme, and some, such as TV advertising for road safety, were historically funded as part of the Safety Administration Programme or through Land Transport NZ’s or the Authority’s LTP. Other education and training activities in the RET programme are new, particularly those addressing sustainable land transport issues.
Work category 811 provides for research activities managed by Land Transport NZ and conducted in the following areas in accordance with Land Transport NZ’s research strategy: asset management, natural hazard risk management, safety and personal security, environmental effects, travel behaviour change, traffic management and sustainable land transport.
Work category 812 provides for national education and training activities managed by Land Transport NZ. The activities, which are contracted out to external service deliverers, include national advertising on land transport-related issues, national promotion of walking and cycling and other land transport-related issues, nationally managed school-based education on land transport issues, and other land transport education and training eg, professional development support associated with community-focused activities, bursaries for postgraduate studies, and support of land transport-related academic programmes.
Education and training activities managed and delivered at the local level are included in the NLTP under the community programmes work category rather than in the research, education and training activity class (apart from some transitional activities for the 2007/08 year). Advice and assistance to approved organisations is part of the Land Transport NZ programme management activity class rather than the research, education and training activity class. And internal training is part of Land Transport NZ’s costs and expenses.
Page updated: 26 June 2007
