Chapter C1 Introduction to the preparation of a regional land transport programme

C1.3 Guidance on terms used in the LTMA

Introduction

There are terms used in the LTMA in the provisions for the content of RLTPs that are not defined in the LTMA. This section provides the NZTA's guidelines on these terms.

Following these guidelines will:

• ensure that terms used in an RLTP are consistent with NZTA terminology
• enable each activity and combination of activities to be more easily included in the NLTP.

Legislation: LTMA s16 and s17.

Activities to be included in RLTPs without prioritisation

In regions other than Auckland, the following activities must be included in the RLTP without prioritisation by the RTC:

• local road maintenance
• local road renewals
• local road minor capital works
• existing public transport services.

Legislation: LTMA s16(1)(a).

‘Activities included without prioritisation’ guidelines

The NZTA interprets the terms:

• ‘existing public transport services’ as being the passenger transport programme as defined in Chapter C6 Preparing passenger transport programmes
• ‘local road maintenance’ and ‘local road renewals’ as being the local road operations, maintenance and renewals programme as defined in Chapter C7 Preparing road operations, maintenance and renewal programmes plus other local road maintenance activities as defined in Chapter C8 Preparing other road maintenance activities.

The NZTA suggests that the term ‘local road minor capital works’ be taken to mean capital projects associated with local roads, including associated property purchase, that meet all of the following criteria:

• are wholly within a single territorial authority area
• have a capital cost of less than or equal to $4.5 million
• are not on a regional arterial road
• do not use regionally distributed funds (R funds) or special funding for specific regions (C funds).

‘Nationally significant activities’ guidelines

The NZTA suggests that the term ‘nationally significant activities’ be taken to mean:

• rail freight operation subsidies and capital improvements
• coastal shipping operation subsidies and capital improvements
• improvements to state highways, with a construction cost of more than $20 million
• activities that are likely to be controversial
• activities that affect or are likely to affect land subject to any Maori claims settlement Act
• innovative activities with the potential for application outside the region, eg integrated ticketing, and tolling
• road tolling proposals
• regional fuel tax proposals
• any other activity that the RTC or ARTA (as relevant) considers to be nationally significant.

Legislation: LTMA s16(3)(f) and s17(3)(f).

‘Activities with inter-regional significance’ guidelines

The NZTA suggests that the term ‘activities or combinations of activities that have inter-regional significance’ be taken to mean:

• rail freight operations between regions
• coastal shipping operations between regions
• improvements to State highways between regions, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $10 million
• improvements to other roads between regions, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $10 million
• any strategic option for which cooperation is required with other regions, as documented in relevant regional land transport strategies (RLTSs)
• other activities that address or affect inter-regional transport outcomes documented in relevant RLTSs
• any other activity that the RTC or ARTA considers to be significant from an inter-regional perspective.

Legislation: LTMA s16(3)(c) and s17(3)(c).

‘Regionally significant activities’ guidelines

The NZTA suggests that the term ‘regionally significant activities’ be taken to mean:

• proposals to develop strategies involving more than one territorial authority
• rail freight or coastal shipping capital improvements
• proposed land transport infrastructure associated with regional economic or land-use considerations, as documented in the RLTS
• activities addressing the demand management strategy documented in the RLTS, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $4.5 million
• activities that increase mode choice, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $4.5 million
• activities supporting integration of land transport modes in the region in accordance with the RLTS, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $4.5 million
• changes of more than 15 percent in the total cost of the road maintenance and renewal programme for a territorial authority or the state highway network within the region
• improvements to state highways within the region, with a construction cost of more than $10 million
• improvements to regional arterial roads, with a construction cost of more than $10 million
• other activities that address or affect intra-regional transport outcomes as documented in the RLTS, with an implementation/construction cost of more than $5 million
• regional fuel tax proposals
• activities proposed to be funded from R or C funds
• any activity that is inconsistent with the current Government Policy Statement (GPS), RLTP, NLTP, national energy efficiency and conservation strategy, relevant national policy statement, or relevant regional policy statements or plans under the Resource Management Act 1991
• any activity or combination of activities that the RTC or ARTA (as relevant) considers to be regionally significant.

Legislation: LTMA s16(3)(f) and s17(3)(f).

‘Significant expenditure from other sources’ guidelines

The NZTA suggests that the term ‘significant expenditure on land transport activities to be funded from other sources’ be taken to mean expenditure greater than $4.5 million on individual land transport activities, whether the activities are included in the RLTP or not.

‘Expenditure’ in this context includes:

• financial expenditure by an approved organisation
• the value of in-kind donations of goods and/or services
• third-party contributions (even if they change the scope of the activity).

Legislation: LTMA s16(3)(b) and s17(3)(b).