Studies - guidance

Introduction

From July 2013, the NZTA will be transitioning to the Business Case Approach for all transport planning investment. It is expected that all transport planning activities from the 2015-18 NLTP will use the business case approach. More information can be found on the Business Case Approach pages or talk to your local NZTA office.

Studies should investigate and identify future transport needs. Studies should inform or respond to the Regional Land Transport Strategy, but inter-regional studies are also encouraged. They should be undertaken in response to change, either in circumstances (e.g. change in growth, or land use forecasts), and/or strategic context. The outputs from studies should feed into strategies and plans.

Studies should also focus on areas where the effective functioning of the transport system is of a high priority.  Funding for studies will be prioritised against the NZTA’s Assessment Framework.

Requirements for studies

Studies should meet the following requirements:

• include a detailed Terms of Reference, which complies with this template 
• confirm that an issue or opportunity exists
• provide a high level analysis of alternatives and options to address the issues or opportunity
• provide information that will directly inform or respond to strategies and plans, and
• respond to and consider (where relevant) Roads of National Significance and their associated network plans.

Expected outputs from studies

Studies should include the following outputs:

• a comprehensive analysis of future transport needs 
• consideration of the strategic, integrated and multi-modal issues and opportunities
• identification of the scale, complexity and parameters of the issue or opportunity
• a high level analysis of alternatives and options, and
• where appropriate, indicative timing and funding requirements.

Examples of qualifying activities

Studies may be network-wide, involve more than one Approved Organisation or be undertaken by a single Approved Organisation. Examples include:

• area-wide transportation studies identifying transport options under different growth scenarios
• regional and inter-regional freight studies
• state highway corridor studies
• safety improvement studies.

Exclusions

Studies that focus on:

• Regional Public Transport Plans, which should be funded from Work category 003: Activity Management Planning
• Regional land transport planning management, which should be funded from Work category 001: Regional Land Transport Planning Management
• Tactical management plans, which should be funded from Work Category 003.
• detailed option selection or any component that is a part of an investigation or business case phase for improvement activities, and
• single mode studies.