NRC News
The $31 billion Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) announced today by Minister of Transport Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is practically silent on road freight says National Road Carriers Association (NRC) CEO David Aitken.
The report is just about all about walking, cycling and public transport. “It will help some people get to where they want to go – but what about transporting food to eat, medicines, clothing and manufacturing supplies?” said Mr Aitken.
“The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that truck drivers play a vital role in delivering essential supplies for New Zealanders. Everything we consume is delivered by multiple truck trips from seaport or airport to distribution centres and then on to retail outlets or direct to homes. The public see the freight industry as heroes as a result of their work during Covid.
Mr Aitken says the ATAP report is unbalanced because there is almost no mention of strategic freight routes that will enable trucks to move around the city more easily to deliver the supplies we need for daily life.
“This is very disappointing because half of the investment comes from the National Land Transport Fund, whose main contributor is the freight community through road user charges, which were increased last year.
“The long-delayed all important East West link is now back on the table as the High Court last week dismissed appeals by Forest and Bird and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei but there is not mention of the link in this report.”
The consented East West link project includes a four-lane road between the Neilson Street interchange at SH20 and the Mt Wellington interchange on SH1, connections to local roads in Onehunga and Penrose, cycleways and work on the foreshore, headlands and wetlands.
Mr Aitken said there was also no mention of upgrades to other strategic arterial routes including Favona Road, Mangere which is a Level 1B freight route (second highest in priority) servicing 2021 transport on a 1960s road network.
“ATAP stands for Auckland Transport Alignment Project. Where is the alignment for the transport of material supplies? We have a long-term infrastructure deficit that needs addressing. It won’t go away by ignoring it.
“The increased freight for all the housing development alone with be significant. Houses don’t just pop up. Housing development timelines of five years will become seven years if we can’t efficiently transport the materials there.
“The ATAP report caters for a portion of what is needed, namely commuter traffic. But that is what the Government focuses on all the time. There is not any recognition in here of the stuff that keeps people alive and houses them.
“This is good spending on commuter and leisure travel but not spending on the infrastructure deficit for freight – which is real.”
Ends
National Road Carriers Association (NRC) is New Zealand’s progressive nationwide organisation representing road transport companies. It represents 1800 members, who collectively operate 16,000 trucks throughout New Zealand. NRC supports its members with legal, financial, employment relations, health & safety, workplace relations, business and environmental advice. It advocates on behalf of members and works with Central and Local Government on road transport infrastructure and regulations.
For more information please contact:
David Aitken, CEO, National Road Carriers, Phone (09) 6222 429, Mobile 021 771 911, david.aitken@natroad.co.nz
Tim Marshall, Wright Communications, tim@wrightcommunications.co.nz, 021 902 850
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Queen St Changes make goods delivery unsafe, difficult
Proposed roading layout changes to Queen Street will make freight and courier deliveries to downtown retail and office businesses more difficult and unsafe and says National Road Carriers Association (NRC) spokesman Chris Carr.
Auckland Transport has proposed changes to the way vehicles use Queen Street including:
• The northbound lane on Queen Street between Shortland Street and Customs Street becoming a bus lane at peak times between 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm. Delivery vehicles must use the southbound lane at these times.
• Full-time bus lanes in both directions creating a bus-only section on Queen Street between Wakefield Street and Wellesley Street.
• A full-time northbound bus lane between Mayoral Drive and Wakefield Street, with travel restrictions at the intersection of Mayoral Drive and closing the Lorne Street exit into Wellesley Street.
Mr Carr said delivery vehicles not being able to park on the side of Queen Street they were delivering to between Shortland Street and Customs Street was hazardous as drivers will have to cross the busy street with their deliveries sometimes with multiple trolley loads.
“That section of Queen St has two shopping plazas and a hotel and these proposed changes will mean that part of Queen St will have just one loading zone available at the peak courier delivery time of 7am-10am.
“What is not clear from AT’s consultation is that the ends of the loading bays are to be angled so the current bays that fit three vans will in future only fit two vans.
“This will inevitably create delivery vehicle snarl-ups and delivery drivers will be forced to find alternatives like double parking or pavement parking – or stop servicing those businesses.”
“This is going to add time, expense and risk for delivery drivers. AT says it wants to transform Auckland’s city centre into a world class place with thoughtful design. This is not well thought through at all because it will create problems.”
He said the creation of the bus only section between Wakefield Street and Wellesley Street and the closure of Queen Street to freight and delivery vehicles between Mayoral Drive and Wakefield Street would impact businesses in the area, especially restaurants.
“For example, the Carl’s Jr restaurant near the Civic Theatre is in a bus only zone with no loading zones yet it is one of Queen Street’s busiest fast food outlets.
“Delivery vehicles will not be able to access their customers and we expect some will refuse to deliver,” said Mr Carr. “We support Heart of the City’s concerns on the impact these changes will have on businesses in Auckland’s central business district.
“As key stakeholders in roading and transport, the freight industry was not properly consulted on these changes before they were proposed. These changes are part of AT’s ‘Access for Everyone’ plan but they are actually significantly reducing access for freight.”
Freightways, which owns multiple freight companies including New Zealand Couriers, Post Haste and Big Chill Distribution and makes over 800 deliveries and pickups to Queen Street businesses daily, says this reduced access will have a negative effect on business growth in the area echoing the safety concerns of the National Road Carriers Association (NRC).
“It’s no secret that the state of the roads is already creating congestion issues and many Queen Street and CBD businesses are under financial pressure as a result of Covid-19.
“Our key concern is getting deliveries where they need to be, and while we will always make it work, it does not appear that AT has properly considered the impact nor consulted stakeholders appropriately with this proposal,” said Freightways CEO Mark Troughear.
Mr Carr said he would like to see:
• The removal of private cars from Queen Street to free it up for buses, cyclists, pedestrians and delivery vehicles.
• The opening of the bus only section between Wakefield and Wellesley Streets to night time delivery vehicles when buses are not running or are less frequent.
• Shared bus and freight lanes. Melbourne CBD has shared zones which work very well.
• Retaining loading zones in the northbound lane between Shortland Street and Customs Street and not reducing the loading zone size from three vans to two.
• AT engaging better with businesses to understand their freight needs including when they need to despatch and receive deliveries.
NRC will make a submission to Auckland Council on the proposed layout changes to Queen Street.
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Te ara ki Tua - Road To Success
Today, Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Transport and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood joined the Road Transport Forum to launch a traineeship dedicated to the road transport industry - Te ara ki tua Road to success.
“On the back of research that we conducted last year, trucking operators clearly identified a shortage of drivers being a problem for their businesses,” Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett says.
“We believe in industry solving its own problems where possible, so we decided the time was right for a dedicated truck driver traineeship, run by the RTF for the industry we represent.
“Trucking has an ageing workforce and we want to bring a new and diverse range of people into the road freight transport industry. We want trainees to be clear on a career path and to be rewarded for their successes.
“We believe that over time, this training will ensure a higher skilled and safer workforce, leading to safer roads.”
Training is a mix of practical and theoretical components, designed to lead directly to qualifications relevant to the industry. These are in the form of micro-credential qualifications completed online and delivered through MITO.
“This traineeship allows people to work and earn money while they go about their training,” Leggett says.
The traineeship has its own branding and website and has two staff members administering it on behalf of employers and trainees, employed by the RTF, Trainees are on the programme for one year, after which it is expected the trainee will continue on at the company they trained with.
“Getting the programme off the ground in the quick timeframe of a year would not have been possible without government assistance and backing,” Leggett says. “In particular, the Tertiary Education Commission and MITO have come to the party in getting the micro-credentials available and waiving fees until 31 December 2021.
“RTF is also working with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) on placing registered job seekers and those affected by Covid-19 with road transport operators. In fact, we are holding the launch event at Carr & Haslam in Auckland which has employed three Te ara ki tua Road to success trainees via MSD’s Kiwi Can Do programme.”
Chris Carr, from Carr & Haslam, says road transport is an essential service in New Zealand, “and it is essential that we attract good people to deliver the goods we all need”.
“Even in these early days of the traineeship we have had three keen and motivated drivers join us,” Carr says. “It is a new way of doing something about our driver shortage that we should have done years ago and I commend the RTF for establishing this traineeship.”
The Te ara ki tua Road to success website is www.roadtosuccess.nz
For more information contact:
Josie Vidal, RTF manager communications & government relations
Mob: 022 092 9353
About Road Transport Forum New Zealand (RTF)
RTF provides unified national representation for several regional trucking associations. RTF members include Road Transport Association NZ, National Road Carriers, and NZ Trucking Association. The affiliated representation of the RTF is about 3,000 individual road transport companies which in turn, operate 16-18,000 trucks involved in road freight transport, as well as companies that provide services allied to road freight transport.
The road freight transport industry employs 32,868 people (2.0% of the workforce), has a gross annual turnover of $6 billion, and transports 93% of the total tonnes of freight moved in New Zealand.
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Auckland Transport Alignment Project report practically silent on road freight
The $31 billion Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) announced today by Minister of Transport Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is practically silent on road freight says National Road Carriers Association (NRC) CEO David Aitken.
The report is just about all about walking, cycling and public transport. “It will help some people get to where they want to go – but what about transporting food to eat, medicines, clothing and manufacturing supplies?” said Mr Aitken.
“The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that truck drivers play a vital role in delivering essential supplies for New Zealanders. Everything we consume is delivered by multiple truck trips from seaport or airport to distribution centres and then on to retail outlets or direct to homes. The public see the freight industry as heroes as a result of their work during Covid.
Mr Aitken says the ATAP report is unbalanced because there is almost no mention of strategic freight routes that will enable trucks to move around the city more easily to deliver the supplies we need for daily life.
“This is very disappointing because half of the investment comes from the National Land Transport Fund, whose main contributor is the freight community through road user charges, which were increased last year.
“The long-delayed all important East West link is now back on the table as the High Court last week dismissed appeals by Forest and Bird and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei but there is not mention of the link in this report.”
The consented East West link project includes a four-lane road between the Neilson Street interchange at SH20 and the Mt Wellington interchange on SH1, connections to local roads in Onehunga and Penrose, cycleways and work on the foreshore, headlands and wetlands.
Mr Aitken said there was also no mention of upgrades to other strategic arterial routes including Favona Road, Mangere which is a Level 1B freight route (second highest in priority) servicing 2021 transport on a 1960s road network.
“ATAP stands for Auckland Transport Alignment Project. Where is the alignment for the transport of material supplies? We have a long-term infrastructure deficit that needs addressing. It won’t go away by ignoring it.
“The increased freight for all the housing development alone with be significant. Houses don’t just pop up. Housing development timelines of five years will become seven years if we can’t efficiently transport the materials there.
“The ATAP report caters for a portion of what is needed, namely commuter traffic. But that is what the Government focuses on all the time. There is not any recognition in here of the stuff that keeps people alive and houses them.
“This is good spending on commuter and leisure travel but not spending on the infrastructure deficit for freight – which is real.”
Ends
National Road Carriers Association (NRC) is New Zealand’s progressive nationwide organisation representing road transport companies. It represents 1800 members, who collectively operate 16,000 trucks throughout New Zealand. NRC supports its members with legal, financial, employment relations, health & safety, workplace relations, business and environmental advice. It advocates on behalf of members and works with Central and Local Government on road transport infrastructure and regulations.
For more information please contact:
David Aitken, CEO, National Road Carriers, Phone (09) 6222 429, Mobile 021 771 911, david.aitken@natroad.co.nz
Tim Marshall, Wright Communications, tim@wrightcommunications.co.nz, 021 902 850
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Appreciation for hard working truck drivers
Truck drivers have played a vital role in delivering essential supplies for New Zealanders as the Covid-19 pandemic has taken the country into a whole range of alert levels and lockdowns.
This week (Monday 22 February to Friday 26 February) is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week where our country’s truck drivers are shown how much they are appreciated for keeping the country moving.
Goodies and gift bags will be handed out to truck drivers at locations around the country to celebrate the industry.
The team at NZ Truck & Driver magazine has co-ordinated the week’s activities, alongside the Road Transport Forum and association partners including National Road Carriers Association (NRC).
“We have events around the country where we’ll be handing out appreciative gift bags to as many drivers as possible,” says organiser Olivia Beauchamp from NZ Truck & Driver.
Representatives from the New Zealand Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team will be helping to give out the goodie bags at some of the locations as a positive gesture and to show their appreciation of safety conscious and law-abiding truck drivers.
“National Road Carriers Association is on board supporting our members and drivers by way of coffee and barbecue events and giving away goodie bags,” says Chief Executive David Aitken. “Some of our association members are also planning activities of their own to appreciate their driver employees. If you are out and about this week, give a truck driver a wave of appreciation.”
The NRC team will be at the following locations:
- Taranaki weighbridge - SH3 / 3 A Junction Monday 22 February 10am - 2pm
- Ohakea weighbridge – Wednesday 24 February, 10am - 2pm
- Kaimai Ranges weighbridge – Thursday 25 February 10am - 2pm
- Ports of Auckland – Wednesday 24 February 10am - 2pm
- Northland Uretiti weighbridge – Wednesday 24 February 8am - 11:30am
NRC thanks the many sponsors supporting this event including:
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