Developing a regional land transport programme
To develop regional land transport programmes, committees:
- identify land transport problems, issues and opportunities in the region
- develop land transport priorities for the region
- receive council proposals for land transport activities in its region and our proposals for state highway and other activities
- consider how activities contribute to regional priorities and the requirements of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA) (external link)
- determine whether any proposed activities should not be included in the programme, and write to the activity proposer to explain the reasons
- develop a funding plan, reflecting all types of available funding
- develop a draft regional land transport programme and consult on it - committees can coordinate consultation to coincide with a council's long-term council community plan
- amend and finalise the regional land transport programme and send it to us for reflection in the NLTP.
See the detailed steps outlined in the Regional land transport programme guidelines or the core requirements outlined in the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (external link).
What regional land transport programmes include
Broadly, these programmes must include land transport activities identified by councils for:
- local road maintenance
- local road renewals
- local road minor capital works
- existing public transport services.
Regional land transport programmes must contain:
- a statement of land transport priorities for the region
- lists of land transport activities included in the programme
- the priority of each activity other than for local road maintenance, local road renewals and local road minor capital works, and existing public transport services
- an assessment of each activity
- an assessment of the programme by the regional transport committee
- a 10-year financial forecast of anticipated revenue and expenditure.
Committees can also include:
- other activities councils have identified
- state highway activities we've identified
- other activities we propose for the region and that the committee wishes to include.
See the detailed requirements described in the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (external link).
How potential activities are prioritised
Councils prioritise potential land transport activities to achieve the best value for money for the least cost from the funds available. Generally, councils use a prioritisation process that matches the one we and regional transport committees use. This gives a realistic evaluation of whether the activity can gain funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).
While the programming process considers many factors, the key considerations are priority and a feasible start date. Activities with a high priority are programmed as soon as is feasible, depending on:
- the funding available over time from each source
- the tasks that need to be undertaken before an activity can be implemented, eg selecting the scope of a future activity, completing detailed design, gaining resource consents, and purchasing any land
- the capacity of the construction sector and what other construction works are also underway or proposed to start
- the timing of prerequisite projects or events, eg the planned development of a new suburb is about to reach the stage where road widening is warranted.
Usually, land transport programmes include more activities than a council expects to implement. This ensures they can maintain the momentum of their overall programme in the event of any individual activities experiencing unforeseen delays.
Have your say on what gets funded
Find out how you can have input to proposed land transport activities.
