The government will invest nearly $33 billion in transportation over the next three years

The government will invest nearly billion in transportation over the next three years

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photo: RNZ/Reece Baker

The National Land Transportation Plan for the next three years will focus on more interstate highways, road maintenance, and public transportation in the nation’s major cities.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the plan with the New Zealand Transport Agency in Wellington on Monday afternoon and was blunt about the Coalition’s new focus.

“There’s less and less money being put into cycle paths and I think New Zealanders are getting tired of the huge amounts of money being put into cycle paths.”

He said the move to de-prioritise public transport was part of the coalition agreement with New Zealand First, with a new focus on “economic growth and productivity”.

Brown said National had campaigned for 17 roads of national significance which were being implemented.

NZ Transport Agency chief executive Nicole Rosie acknowledged it would be “very challenging to get everything done within the budget” but the agency was “up for the challenge”.

The plan has an investment of US$32.9 billion and focuses on the following four areas:

Fulfilling the Alliance Agreement to reintroduce the successful Route of National Significance (RoNS) scheme, establishing 17 RoNS schemes across the country
Going back to basics and focusing on maintenance and prevention of potholes to reduce the number of potholes on the road
Supporting reliable public transit service and implementing four new major public transit projects to increase travel options in our major cities
Make sure local councils do the basic job well, increase pothole prevention, reduce funding for cycle lanes and don’t provide funding for speed bumps

Brown said New Zealanders had “rejected the previous Government’s transport policy which resulted in unrealised transport, sham projects, lower speed limits and a proliferation of speed bumps”.

“The Government is turning this around with record investment in transport projects designed to reduce journey times, improve public transport options, and build and maintain our road network to the safe and reliable standards New Zealanders expect.

“I am pleased to see the NLTP approved by the NZTA Board, which represents a 35 per cent increase in funding over the past three years and strongly reflects our Government’s priorities of economic growth and productivity, improved maintenance and resilience, safety and value for money.

“New Zealanders will see fewer potholes on our roads as we invest heavily in resealing, repairs and drainage maintenance to prevent nasty potholes from forming in the first place.”

Brown said $6.4 billion will be invested to complete and carry out the following public transportation and infrastructure projects.

The urban rail link line is completed
East District Bus Lane
Northwest Rapid Transit Corridor
Airport to Botany bus route
North Island Railway Comprehensive Transportation

In response to a question about whether it was fair to cut walking and cycling funding in half, Brown said a lot of money was being spent on “nice to haves” and the new plan aimed to “get back to basics” and focus on road maintenance.

The NLTP is funded by fuel excise, road user charges, vehicle registration fees and driver licence fees.

Roads of national significance listed by the NLTP include: