The Ministry of Transport would like to invite you to attend the 3rd Transport Research Colloquium on Thursday 26th November 2020. In light of COVID-19 and alert level changes we have decided to hold a slightly shorter event online this year.

The purpose of the Research Colloquium, first held in 2018, is to connect research and policy communities by providing an opportunity to meet and share insights on transport topics of contemporary importance to NZ.

Representatives from the Ministry of Transport, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and other organisations will be on hand to answer questions and build networks between the various organisations and participants.

Agenda

9.30am Welcome

9.40am Is it love at first sight or a missed connection, why do we keep missing each other?

Simon Kingham – Ministry of Transport, Chief Science Adviser

10.00am Waka Kotahi Sector Research Programme Update

Jonathan Boow, Manager - Waka Kotahi Sector Research Programme

10.15am Surveying the impact of COVID-19 on people's transport choices

Jo Chang, Waka Kotahi and Jennifer McSaveney, Ministry of Transport

10.30am Research breakout session

Six parallel virtual discussions will be facilitated by appropriate policy representatives. These cover a number of transport topics and provide an opportunity to discuss current and future research needs and opportunities.

Please select ONE break-out session (from the available six options) that you would like to join when you register.

11.30am Finish

Breakout session details:

1. Emerging transport technologies – what’s next?

Emerging transport technologies have the potential to significantly impact how the future transport system will operate. We have already seen a shift in the application of drones from recreational toys to the transportation of goods, the increasing prevalence of autonomous functions in the vehicles we have on our roads, and the introduction of micromobility options like e-scooters on our sidewalks. How transport technologies will develop over the next 15-20 years in New Zealand is anyone’s guess. This session will provide an opportunity to hear about how the Ministry is approaching emerging transport technologies, and to share your thoughts and ideas about where New Zealand might be heading, as well as some of the work you are currently developing. We will focus specifically on four key transport technologies: autonomous vehicles, drones, micromobility and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

2. Placemaking and urban development

Placemaking is the process of turning spaces into vibrant public places that are good for people’s wellbeing, and that make urban areas attractive places to live, work, and play in. Urban development relates to how towns/cities grow to accommodate more people and to enable economic activity. The transport system has major impacts on how cities develop, and the sustainability and productivity of human settlements. Land use and urban form also shape transport, including the viability and popularity of different transport modes. This theme will focus on transport’s role in creating well-functioning and vibrant urban areas, covering aspects such as housing, mode shifts, and transit-oriented developments.

3. Protecting people from road-related deaths and injuries

New Zealand has committed to decisive action under Road to Zero strategy for 2020-2030 to address the unacceptable levels of trauma on our roads. Road to Zero sets an ambitious target of a 40 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Successful delivery of the 15 actions under the first action plan for 2020-2022 will be critical to achieving this target. In this session we’ll be keen to discuss how research (underway or in development) can help us achieve this.

4. Transitioning to net zero carbon emissions

Under the Zero Carbon Act, New Zealand has set a domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target to reduce net emissions of all GHGs (except biogenic methane) to zero by 2050. New Zealand also has international obligations under the Paris Agreement to reduce its GHG emissions. Transport is responsible for 47 percent of total domestic CO2 emissions, and therefore major emissions reductions in this area are critical to achieving the net zero target. Mitigating transport emissions is not easy, but it can be achieved through bold decisions being taken as soon as possible. This will need to include decisions to implement a range of policies that reduce the need to travel, decarbonise our vehicles and fuels and lower the carbon footprint of freight.

While we have identified a range of potential measures that could be used to decarbonise the transport system, there are some areas that need further discussion and research to support the change required. We need to consider the following challenges:

• Social equity: In terms of social equity and mitigating impacts on lower income households, how can Aotearoa take steps to enable low income people to be able to access low emission vehicles? This challenge is not limited to only transport as other sectors will face similar challenges.

• Fuelling and charging infrastructure: There needs to be a wider consideration of how infrastructure are implemented. For the light vehicle fleet – how do we optimise the roll out of infrastructure to ensure equity and that a commercially sustainable model achieves this (i.e. avoiding a monopoly operator)? And, for the heavy vehicle fleet – how can we understand the best approach to setting out ownership of infrastructure, the decision maker on locations and how potential investment is generated?

• How can we bring down vehicle kilometres travelled in Aotearoa?

• How can we reduce car ownership in Aotearoa?

• What types of impacts and risks are associated with discharges and physical disturbances from large ships, in NZ ports and sensitive environments?

5. The roles of transport in emerging economic environment

As countries around the world continues to battle and recover from the pandemic, we are seeing massive increases in fiscal commitments in a scale that has not seen before. Investment in infrastructure, such as those in the transport system, creates jobs and stimulates economic activities and has been one of the strategies used by many countries following various economic crises. However, a key difference between the past situations and the current environment is the increasing concerns around material depletions and environmental effects resulting from increasing population and economic activities. Many economists have speculated that a big change in how we define and measure the success of our economic system is needed and will soon emerge. What does this mean to the transport system/sector? Does the transport sector have the right information and knowledge to understand how the roles of transport might evolve?

There are a range of challenges facing the transport sector, such as:

• Uncertainty around global economic conditions (pandemic and the broader geopolitical issues) and the implications on trade and transport

• Changing consumption behaviours and the impacts on transport policy and investment decisions (e.g. on climate change and sustainability)

• Accelerated e-commerce and digitalisation and the associated big data opportunities

• Changing working practices (e.g. working from home) and impacts on urban and transport planning

• Changes that might emerge with the supply chains, particular around increasing uptake of reproduction, reuse and recycle and hence an increasing demand for reverse logistics

In this discussion session, we would like to explore the research required to better understand and gear up what transport could/should do in meeting these challenges.

6. Transport resilience and security: Kaikōura earthquake, March 15, COVID-19 and beyond

The Ministry of Transport works within national systems to minimise and manage the risks from natural and human-made threats, and ensure the transport system recovers effectively from disruptive events. In the past decade, these events have included the Canterbury sequence of earthquakes from 2010-2014, the Rena oil spill in 2011, the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016, the 2017 Ruakaka pipeline failure, the March 15 terrorist attack and Whakaari-White Island eruption in 2019, the emergence and resurgence of COVID-19 in 2020, and a number of extreme weather events. This session will introduce the Ministry’s Resilience and Security team and the Transport Resilience and Security Strategic Framework, and explore opportunities to interface with research in this space.