Public transport minor improvements

Definition

Minor improvements Improvement projects (both roading and PT The carriage of passengers for hire or reward by means of vehicles as defined in section 5 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0118/latest/DLM226238.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_land+transport+management+act_resel_25_a&p=1 ) of $300,00 (was $250,000 for the 2012-15 NLTP) cost or less than are within the definition of existing improvements work categories. Minor improvements are delivered as a programme with block funding under delegated authority. are funded under Work Category 531 with the same funding assistance rate as all other activities in this work category A type of activity – not confined to a particular activity class, e.g. new roads (work category 323) appears in:

* activity class 12 – local road improvements
* activity class 13 – state highways improvements . 

Public transport minor improvements provide for the construction and implementation of low-cost, low-risk improvements to the transport system to a maximum total cost for approval per project of $300,000.

 Examples of qualifying activities

Examples of qualifying activities include, but may not be limited to:

• small scale new services or service trials (with a whole of life cost of no more than $300,000),
• construction of new shelter(s) or existing shelter upgrades,
• construction of new station / station halt or existing station / station halt upgrades,
• construction of concrete arrival/ departure pads for buses,
• platform extension, replacement and upgrade,
• minor new asset purchases for PT The carriage of passengers for hire or reward by means of vehicles as defined in section 5 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.
  http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0118/latest/DLM226238.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_land+transport+management+act_resel_25_a&p=1 facilities (eg. rubbish bins, canopies, seating, etc),
• roof, guttering or lighting upgrades,
• signage, timetable or screen display installation or upgrade,
• CCTV installation or upgrade,
• installation of cycle racks on buses, and
• vehicle and cycle parking installation or upgrade at a bus stop / interchange or station.

Other potential activities not shown above should be discussed with the Transport Agency for eligibility.

Exclusions

Exclusions include:

• any project with an estimated total cost for approval (after deducting third party / supplementary funding from the total cost) of over $300,000 – these must be developed as small or large stand-alone projects under the appropriate work category A type of activity – not confined to a particular activity class, e.g. new roads (work category 323) appears in:
  
  * activity class 12 – local road improvements
  * activity class 13 – state highways improvements , and
• the installation of minor (less than $300,000) on-road public transport related improvements, e.g. bus priority measures, any such treatments are funded under Work Category 341 – Minor Improvements (for roads).

Base funding allocation

For an NLTP A National Land Transport Programme Interrelated and complementary combination of activities that, when delivered in a coordinated manner, produce synergies – can span more than one work category and more than one activity class, e.g. a programme could include a road improvement and public transport improvement activities. adopted by the NZTA under section 19 of the LTMA, as from time to time amended or varied under development, each Approved Organisation administering public transport for a regional network will be entitled to receive a base allocation for minor improvments of 5% of its approved Public transport programme under the proviso that in the preceding NLTP the Approved Organisation has met the all of the conditions of funding set out in the section below.

Approved Organisations may request a lower or higher allocation than the 5% base allocation.  If the request is for a higher allocation, the Transport Agency (planning & investment), may agree to the increase following optimisation of the National Land Transport Programme Interrelated and complementary combination of activities that, when delivered in a coordinated manner, produce synergies – can span more than one work category and more than one activity class, e.g. a programme could include a road improvement and public transport improvement activities. .

Conditions of funding

The following conditions of funding apply:

• the Transport Agency requires, as a condition precedent of funding approval for the three year programme, that each Minor Improvements programme is supported by a list of projects with relevant information provided by the Transport Agency template and uploaded into Transport Investment Online.  Note that the template has been created in Excel 2007 and that the Summary of Activities” worksheet will show #NAME? errors if opened in Excel 2003.
• the project list must be updated and uploaded regularly, at least by the end of August each year, and preferably more regularly for larger programmes,
• if, during the preceding NLTP A National Land Transport Programme Interrelated and complementary combination of activities that, when delivered in a coordinated manner, produce synergies – can span more than one work category and more than one activity class, e.g. a programme could include a road improvement and public transport improvement activities. adopted by the NZTA under section 19 of the LTMA, as from time to time amended or varied , an Approved Organisation’s Minor Improvement programme list is not updated at least annually, including progress reported, the Transport Agency (planning & investment) will adjust its base funding allocation for the next NLTP below 5%, with the organisation’s Minor Improvement programme capped at this adjusted level,
• a Minor improvement project cost must not be split or claimed over multiple work categories and activity classes, and be under Work Category 531 for public transport related activities,
• a Minor improvement project cost must not be split into more than one Minor Improvement project to circumvent the $300,000 total cost for approval cap,
• the total cost for approval of any multi-party funded Minor Improvement project must not exceed the $300,000 total cost across all funding parties,
• the $300,000 total cost for approval maximum includes professional services, property related and all construction/ implementation costs related to the project,
• if the tender price for a minor improvement project means results in a total cost exceeding the $300,000 limit the Approved Organisation can either:
  • withdraw it as a minor improvement and resubmit as a stand-alone project in Transport Investment Online, or
  • let it remain as a minor improvement (and granted approval as part of the Minor Improvements programme) restricted, however, to the $300,000 total cost for approval limit, with any amount over be treated as third party/ supplementary funding and funded by the Approved Organisation.
• when the actual outturn total cost for approval exceeds the tendered cost and also now exceeds the $300,000 limit, the project may remain as a minor improvement and receive funding assistance against all of the total cost for approval, provided the Transport Agency regional representative agrees that the reasons for the increase are justified and that the increase is reasonable.

Funding assistance rate (FAR The usual contribution in percentage terms, that the NZTA augments funding of an approved organisation, for the delivery of an activity or combination of activities. )

The usual funding assistance rate is:

• the Approved Organisation's normal FAR.

Application for Regional Land Transport Plan inclusion and funding approval

Minor Improvements will be entered into Transport Investment Online as a single item using the Minor Improvements module.  The list of projects and required information must be provided in the Transport Agency template (for Public Transport) and uploaded with the application.

End of year carryover

For end of year carryovers, Minor Improvements are considered to be programmes of work and treated according to the section on end of year carryovers.

Any unfinished project(s) within the Minor Improvements programme will need to be added to the following year’s programme, with its remaining cost taken from the following year’s approved allocation.