Submission on the ARTA Draft Land Transport Programme
Our submission on ARTA's Land Transport Programme identifies some key weaknesses to be addressed. The LTP sets out the work for the next financial year.
General
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) would like to congratulate ARTA on the practical outcomes that it has achieved to date for public transport users, in particular the improvements to rail services. ARTA has the support of the CBT and we believe that ARTA is the correct organisational structure to coordinate and implement much needed further improvements to passenger transport throughout the Auckland region.
Key Transport Issues Identified By ARTA
Strategic Reliance on Fossil Fuels
ARTA has failed to identify the key issue of Auckland's near total reliance on fossil fuels.
A number of independent commentators, geologists and analysts around the world have pointed out that the production levels of fossil fuels are now declining. This is also borne out by publicly available production reports for 2005 from companies such as Exxon Mobil and Shell. Neither of these companies managed to increase production at all from 2004, despite record high prices providing a strong incentive to do so. The effect of this coupled with relatively inelastic demand is that fuel prices will increase for the foreseeable future.
As identified in the 2005 Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy, high fuel prices will lead to:
- Public transport use [demand] increasing beyond what is now projected.
- A mode shift and a reduction in non-essential trips
- Less congestion [and consequently current roading projects becoming redundant]
- Long distance rail freight becoming more attractive than road freight
- Locations well served by public transport will be favoured
The RLTS concludes that:
"In light of the possibility that oil prices will continue to increase and/or there are restrictions on supply, the transport system needs to be flexible and resilient enough to still meet the objectives of this RLTS."
There is nothing in the draft LTP to indicate that the very real prospect of high oil prices is being taken seriously. In fact it isn’t even mentioned.
"Missing Links"
The CBT supports the key issues for the Auckland region, identified on page 9 of the draft LTP, with the exception of:
"Missing links in the strategic and regional arterial network lead to delays in freight movement and high traffic volumes on local roads"
The CBT agrees that there can be delays in freight movement and high traffic volumes on local roads, however these are not caused solely by so-called "missing" links. The establishment of more links in the arterial network is one of many possible solutions to the issue, but should not be confused with the issue itself. For instance there would be no delays if there were less cars on the road. Conversely, more links will not prevent delays in freight movement or reduce traffic volumes in the future.
The CBT submits that delays in freight movement and high traffic volumes on local roads are symptoms of:
- Continued growth in the number of registered private cars in the Auckland region. An additional 100,000 cars have been registered in the in the Auckland region in the space of two years.
- The high incidence of single occupant drivers at peak times. It is estimated that over 70% of all vehicles at peak time contain just one person.
We therefore request that the wording of this issue be changed to:
"Delays in freight movements occur as a result of congestion of the existing roading network, particularly at peak periods."
and
"High traffic volumes on local roads are undesirable as they make living in local communities less desirable."
When stated in this way, a number of possible solutions become evident, such as:
- More intelligent use of the existing roading network such as high occupancy vehicle lanes on arterial routes
- More freight movements by rail
- Encouraging transport movements outside of peak times
- Encouraging greater use of public transport
- Encouraging higher occupancy in private vehicles
Transport Priorities Identified By ARTA
Onehunga Branch Line
The CBT submits that reopening the Onehunga Branch railway should be a transport priority. Currently the existing track is lying idle, yet there is very strong community support to have this line reopened. Independent engineering reports put the cost of this at somewhere between $6m and $12m. If implemented, thousands of people living in Onehunga, Mangere and surrounding areas would benefit from having a rail service direct to downtown Auckland.
The CBT submits that no other transport project in the Auckland region can offer similar benefits for the cost, and as such should be included in the transport programme.
Electrification
The CBT supports the investigation and construction phases proposed for rail electrification. However why question why the Efficiency of these projects is marked as "L", given that electrification of rail will mitigate the effects of rising oil prices and also offer considerable environmental and health benefits. Such a low rating indicates that the benefit cost ratio used to calculate the rating does not consider these effects. The CBT submits that they should.
New Rolling Stock
The CBT supports any initiative to secure more rolling stock, but again questions why the efficiency of such a measure is marked as "L", given that passenger train services are at capacity at peak times.
Newmarket Remodelling
The CBT supports moves to remodel the Newmarket station. Newmarket is a pivotal part of the entire rail network and it is important to get this right as it affects the efficiency of a majority of rail journeys throughout Auckland. Again we question why the efficiency of this project is marked as "L".
Relative Priorities Identified By ARTA
Benefit Cost Ratio
The CBT submits that the factors that make up the Benefit Cost Ratio for a given project need to be clearly identified, along with their weighting. The CBT submits that the following factors need to be included in any calculation:
- Any project that reduces dependency on fossil fuels should have a significant positive effect on the BCR.
- Any project that has positive environmental and health outcomes should have a significant positive effect on the BCR.
It should be noted that the Land Transport NZ methodology totally ignores possible effects of increases in fuel prices. Transit also does not model the effects of possible high fuel prices on the viability of projects that it proposes.
Wherever possible, benefits of a project should be quantified. For example, Transit recently spent millions of dollars moving the Nelson St off ramp from the right hand side of the motorway to the left. The CBT questions the benefit of this project. Apart from a purist argument that "all motor off-ramps should be on the left", the quantifiable benefit has been virtually nil. In fact it may be negative as the existing off-ramp remains as an eyesore that cannot be removed, and is currently unusable as it has been blocked off from all traffic.
Include all costs in BCR
The CBT submits that all costs, both public and private, need to be considered when considering the BCR of a given project. For instance it is common for railway operational costs to be included in a BCR, however operational costs are never included in roading projects. The cost of roading projects would be substantially higher if the following factors were included:
- The cost of fuel that motorists will use while "operating" the road. The Auckland region spends approximately $70m - $100m a month on petrol alone. As all of this money forms revenue for foreign owned companies and is a significant drain on our economy.
- The cost of ownership of a vehicle – depreciation, maintenance etc. It cannot be assumed that most people own a car already and therefore the marginal cost is nil. A new roading project encourages more people to purchase cars as well as use existing ones, whereas alternatives to roading encourage people out of their cars, to the extent that they may no longer need them. The Auckland region spends $100m a month on car parts and accessories.
- The marginal environmental and health costs associated with the increase in traffic that the road generates.
- The cost of maintaining the road. It is noted that roading maintenance and improvement and replacement of roads constitutes 39% of all submissions for the LTP.
In conclusion, costs included in a BCR calculation for any project need to be given greater clarity and include the widest possible scope to determine the viability of a project.