Resources

This report describes a national long-term land transport demand model (NLTDM) for evaluating transport demand scenarios looking out 30 years and taking account of mega-trends in: population growth dynamics; spatial demographic trends; technology trends; income and economic growth; industrial composition; and policy.

The objective of this research (undertaken in 2010–12) was to provide improved evidence (potentially leading to improved modelling, monitoring and evaluation methods) on the implications of major road investments in New Zealand on significant factors including travel demand, operational performance, environmental effects, emissions, road safety, development patterns and economic effects.

This report describes a review of literature on approaches to valuing injury and mortality risk in transport assessments.

Internationally there is a growing call to improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure. This is in response to a realisation that the services we take for granted may be robust in the face of predictable hazards/failures, but are in fact extremely fragile in the face of unanticipated shocks.

An efficient transport system is crucial for the New Zealand economy. It facilitates businesses delivering goods to consumers, retail stores and ports for export, and maintaining business competitiveness. The objective of this research was to understand the importance of transport costs as a proportion of total business costs, and examine the opportunities to reduce these costs for New Zealand businesses.

The benefits and processes for evaluating economic outcomes of ‘standard’ transport interventions are well recognised – infrastructure improvements, intersection treatments, public transport schemes, safety improvements etc.Operations activities such as network optimisation, ITS system operation, traffic management, events, traveller information, ‘soft’ measures etc, are generally accepted to be beneficial. Compared with other interventions, these activities generally require significantly lower investment and therefore industry practices and views are that any benefits are likely to return high value-for-money outcomes.Historically there has been limited requirement in New Zealand to carry out in-depth economic assessments of operations activities. The methodologies and approaches for carrying out benefit appraisal of operations activities are not well established.In line with the NZ Transport Agency better business case approach, operations activities need to be considered as part of the potential lifecycle of transport solutions and evaluated alongside, or as part of, the main investment solution options.

This study assessed the feasibility and materiality of allowing for real-price changes in economic appraisals over the course of a transport project's appraisal period. The research found that time indexing unit cost parameters in transport cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is feasible, and that benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) increase materially for the majority of project categories, but not for all. The report considers some of the issues involved, identifies the relative effects of various assumptions, and provides recommendations.

This research report investigated the economic and financial benefits from providing expanded park and ride (P&R) facilities. The project objectives were to assist decision-makers by providing guidance on:

Current transport appraisal methods, with their focus on the economic welfare benefits and costs of transport investment, are well grounded in theory and widely used, including by the NZ Transport Agency when it comes to prioritising transport interventions in New Zealand.

The NZ Transport Agency is charged with taking an integrated approach to land transport planning. Our integrated planning strategy sets out how we can invest in land transport activities that support appropriate land-use patterns and connect major cities and ports. We aim to achieve the lowest possible long-term transport costs for firms and households through effective planning and design.