Sustainable transport drives strategy update

Sustainable transport was the driver behind the update of The New Zealand Transport Strategy, a meeting in Invercargill was told yesterday.

Transport Ministry officials met the Southland Regional Land Transport Committee to discuss the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill 2007.

Ministry strategy and sustainability general manager John Allard gave a presentation to the committee about the update's discussion paper -- Sustainable Transport.

It sets out the issues and proposes a series of transport-specific targets already decided by the Government in the areas of sustainability, energy and climate change.

Mr Allard said the update had set targets to help reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The Government has agreed to halve per capita domestic greenhouse gas transport emissions.

"... all westernised countries are facing the same challenges ... we need to keep the economy moving while thinking about peak oil and also thinking about greenhouse gases," Mr Allard said. The targets in the update have been set for 2040.

They included lifting rail's share of domestic freight from about 18 percent to 25 percent, double coastal shipping's share of inter-regional freight to about 30 percent, reducing premature deaths and serious illnesses caused by air pollution, and at least double the overall public transport mode share to 7 percent of all passenger trips.

Mr Allard said the bill also allowed regional councils the power to impose regional fuel tax levies.

The levies could mean motorists face paying an extra 10c a litre for petrol from July next year to fund road and rail projects.