Monitoring and review

The monitoring and review of public transport services and infrastructure is important to ensuring the system is meeting its objectives and is necessary to:  

• Enable oversight of the planning, operation, implementation, and delivery of public transport in accordance with our statutory function under section 95 of the Land Transport Management Act.

• Ensure best value for money from the government’s investment in public transport and that the system is contributing to outcomes that are in the public’s best interest.

• Enable transparency and evidence-based decision-making and drive a continuous improvement cycle.

Continuous improvement cycle - key customer experience touchpoints that make up an end-to-end journey experience.

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Oversight and system outcomesBack to top

Monitoring outcomes and performance on a national scale is a key mechanism to ensure that the administration, regulation and delivery of the land transport system is occurring in a way that delivers the long-term strategic direction set by the Ministry of Transport and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). This overarching strategic direction and corresponding monitoring framework is outlined in the following statutory documents prepared by NZTA

• Statement of Intent (SOI) sets out an approach and course of action for a three-year period that will contribute to the delivery of the government’s land transport objectives and wider transport vision. The SOI outlines a performance framework that helps us track progress towards realising our vision and system outcomes. NZTA contributes to, but does not always directly execute, these system changes. To bring about the envisioned change outlined in the SOI, NZTA works collaboratively with its partners.
  Statement of intent
• Statement of Performance Expectations (SPE) sets out how we will measure the financial and non-financial performance of the activities that we deliver and invest in (output classes) and provides forecast financial statements. NZTA prepares a SPE every year.
  Statement of performance expectations 

Public transport authority reporting  Back to top

Public transport authorities are required to provide regular (non-financial) reporting to NZTA as a condition of funding, as set out below.

Information on investment requirements, financial reporting and benefits management:

Planning and investment knowledge base 

Benefits management guidance 

Annual achievement returns  

Annual achievement returns are an important part of accountability reporting for public transport authorities. Annual achievement returns provide the information required for NZTA to report on performance expectations and Crown appropriations.  

Information on annual reporting requirements: 

Annual reporting requirements for public transport authorities 

Customer satisfaction surveys 

Customer satisfaction surveys are carried out on a regular basis by public transport authorities using a nationally consistent methodology. The methodology includes a common set of questions, sampling methods and rating scales to allow national statistics to be developed for the purpose of accountability reporting to government and allow benchmarking between approved organisations and between operators. 

Procurement manual 

Appendix K - Measuring public transport customer satisfaction

Monthly achievement returns 

Monthly achievement returns are completed by public transport authorities as part of a regular monitoring and reporting cycle.  

Information on monthly reporting requirements: 

Monthly reporting requirements for public transport authorities

Regional public transport plans  Back to top

Public transport authorities must also include performance and monitoring policies within their regional public transport plans. NZTA development guidelines for regional public transport plans provide further guidance, including: 

• Purpose and principles 

• Customer experience 

• Service performance expectations 

• Network performance 

Guidance on regional public transport plans: 

Development guidelines for regional public transport plans