Road spending call...gets rail spending response

A MULTI-ORGANISATION CALL ON the Government to use some of its so-called “shovel-ready” COVID-19 recovery budget on urgently-needed road repairs, has apparently failed to impress Transport Minister Phil Twyford.

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett says it was “interesting” to see the Government’s response – with Twyford switching the focus onto promoting rail for moving freight.

The RTF, Automobile Association, Association of Consultants and Engineers, Civil Contractors New Zealand, Employers and Manufacturers Association and Infrastructure NZ made the united call to address “the dire state of NZ roads.”

It generated plenty of media and public debate, but when Radio NZ asked Twyford about it, he said: “Our record investments in rail will help take pressure off our roads by moving more freight to rail. It’s going to take more than a few years to undo a decade of neglect.”

Leggett points out that early in this coalition

Government’s term, Twyford said that there had been an over-investment in roads and motorways for decades…but he told RNZ the Government agreed there had been under-investment for a decade prior to 2017 – so it had increased highway maintenance spending on average by 36%. If reelected, he would increase that by 17%.

Hopefully, says Leggett, that means “he’s had a change of heart…..”

Twyford’s rail focus is contrary to the evidence that rail cannot compete with the “effectiveness, convenience and efficiency of road freight, Leggett says.

“In NZ, the National Freight Demand Study, commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and released in October 2019, showed that freight delivered by road was 93% of the freight task – up 16% since 2012 – while rail was 5.6% of the freight task…down 17% since 2012.”

MoT data also shows that the tonnage of dairy produce transported by rail has dropped from about 3.9 million tonnes in 2013 to 2.3 million tonnes early this year, says Leggett.

At the same time, over $2billion in taxes is collected each year for the National Land Transport Fund to fund roads – but some of that is now being used to fund modes of transport that make no contribution. This cross-subsidisation is at the expense of roads and hits consumers in the back pocket.

Leggett says the country needs “a good balance” of spending on rail, public transport and roads.

“What we have an issue with is the defunding of roads for pet projects in rail that cannot provide a viable return on investment, or the efficiency, effectiveness, reliability and cost benefits of road freight.

“The Government is slowing down the economy by not spending on roads. Slowing down movement of goods – particularly essentials such as food and medicines – impacts on the cost of living for all NZers.”

T&D