50 Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
11 October 2021
Anatole Sergejew
f [email address]
REF: OIA-8810
Dear Anatole
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you f or your email
of 19 September 2021 requesting the following information under the Official
Inf ormation Act 1982 (the Act):
Section 35 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 requires the Agency to consider the
needs of persons who are transport disadvantaged when preparing any programme. Appendix 6
of the AT Regional Public Transport Plan 2018-2028 identifies groups more likely to be transport
disadvantaged in Auckland, including:
1. people with low income,
2. new immigrants and
3. high deprivation neighbourhoods.
Could you please advise how and the degree to which the Auckland component of the current
National Land Transport Programme identifies and considers the needs of transport
disadvantaged persons from these three groups.
A key mechanism used by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to ensure that transport funding is
directed towards communities with the greatest need is the setting of funding assistance rates (FARs).
FARs are the f unding contribution, represented as a percentage of total cost, that we provide as co-
investment from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) to councils and other approved
organisations for eligible projects and activities. FARs are calculated for each council or other
approved organisation.
The Waka Kotahi methodology for determining FARs takes into account factors materially affecting
delivery and affordability. One of these is the index of deprivation. This is a demographic index
published by the University of Otago and used by the Ministry of Health, which provides a measure of
the relative wealth of communities. Other factors being equal, communities with a higher rating on the
deprivation index receive higher FARs. In the case of Auckland, the FAR is 51 percent. Other FARs
range up to 75 percent (or 88 percent in the case of the Chatham Islands). The FAR rates are
reviewed prior to each new National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
There are a hierarchy of documents that Waka Kotahi must give effect to or consider when developing
the NLTP. Waka Kotahi is required to:
• give effect to the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) 2021
• contribute to the purpose of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 which is to contribute
to an ef fective, efficient, and safe land transport system in the public interest
• take into account the Regional Land Transport Plans (RLTP) of councils, as well as any
National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NEECS), relevant National Policy
Statement (NPS), relevant National Policy Statements (NPS), relevant Regional Policy
Statements (RPS) and any plans in force under the Resource Management Act 1991.
The Waka Kotahi Investment Prioritisation Method (IPM) for the 2021–24 NLTP is used to assess and
prioritise proposals seeking inclusion in the NLTP. The IPM is required to give effect to the GPS 2021.
The IPM does not contain specific criteria relating to transport disadvantaged for the purposes of
prioritising activities in the NLTP.
However, NLTP decisions rely on Waka Kotahi partners appropriately considering the transport
disadvantaged when they are preparing their programme and activities for submission. As an
example, public transport services in Auckland are required to be consistent with the AT RLTP which
sets out requirements for providing accessible services to groups likely to be transport disadvantaged.
If you would like to discuss this reply with Waka Kotahi, please contact Gareth Hughes, National Land
Transport Programme Development Manager, by email to [email address] or by phone
on (04) 894 6244.
Yours sincerely
Howard Cattermole
Chief Financial Officer
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