Last week Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced some planned transport rule changes including some very welcome and overdue ones for buses, scooters and people on bikes.
The Government is progressing a bold work programme to increase productivity and efficiency through comprehensively reforming New Zealand’s land transport rules, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
“Land transport rules set out how different sectors of the transport industry must operate. They impact all road users – from the suburban mum or dad who has to get a Warrant of Fitness every year no matter how new or well-maintained their car, to the truckies who’ve been loaded up with compliance costs due to rules long since made redundant through advances in technology,” says Mr Bishop.
“Right now the rules system is overly cumbersome to update and creates a substantial administrative burden for New Zealand businesses trying their best to operate safely, legally and efficiently.
“The rules are full of nonsensical or outdated requirements. For example, the Road User Rule doesn’t currently permit e-scooters to use cycle lanes or young children to ride their bikes on the footpath. Several rules require hard copy letters to be posted instead of sending emails, which last year alone resulted in 14 million hard copy letters, reminders, and labels being posted at a cost to the taxpayer of $16.8 million. While some of these letters will still need to be printed and posted, the rules reform programme will make it possible for many of these services to be modernised.
“Earlier this year, I started work to update one of the land transport rules by consulting on proposals to reduce how often private motorhomes and vintage cars and motorcycles need to renew their Warrant of Fitness (WOF) or Certificate of Fitness (COF).
“Now we’re taking that same common-sense approach to other transport rules through a comprehensive programme of work to reform and update them, with most decisions expected to be made over the next 18 months.”
The Land Transport Rules Reform Programme includes seven streams of work:
- Reducing the frequency of vintage vehicle and motorhome WOF and COF inspections, as previously announced.
- Considering additional safety requirements for vehicle imports including a possible phased introduction.
- Reviewing WOF/COF frequency and inspection requirements for light vehicles.
- Simplifying heavy vehicle driver licencing, weight thresholds, and freight permitting to improve efficiency and productivity for the freight sector.
- Enabling digital driver licences and, digital alternatives to WOF/COF/rego stickers, allowing NZTA to electronically collect, store and send regulatory notices, enabling online theory tests, and simplifying identification requirements for NZTA customers.
- Improving lane use and use of traffic control devices, and minor system improvements, which will include enabling e-scooters in cycle lanes and children to ride bikes on footpaths, minimum overtaking gaps when passing cyclists, horses etc, and requiring vehicles to give way to buses exiting bus stops.
- Overhauling the vehicle regulatory system to make it more efficient, effective and adaptable, including simplifying and refocusing import requirements and streamlining recognition of overseas standards.
Number six is the most interesting to me so I won’t comment too much on most of the points, although digital driver licenses are probably quite useful. With the ability to pay for public transport and most retail activities using a phone, if I happen to be driving, the need to carry a driver’s license is often the only reason I need a wallet these days. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
As for number six: all of the items listed here were part of the Accessible Street regulation changes consulted on by the last government in early 2020. My understanding is the changes then sat on the minister’s desk, waiting for a signature. There were a number of other proposals as part of the Accessible Streets changes that don’t appear in this press release so I’m guessing this government is only pursuing the ones they agree with.
Scooters in bike lanes
Transport history (and present) is full of gadgetbahn proposals that promise to revolutionise how we get around our cities. Yet the one thing that has changed transport in recent years and which almost no one saw coming was e-scooters, especially shared, rentable e-scooters. They burst onto the scene around 2018, and have since become a common sight in cities all over the world.
Given the speed of e-scooters, our slowly growing network of separated bike lanes is the perfect place for them to be used – but as we quickly found out, e-scooters are technically not allowed to use them.
So allowing scooters to use bike lanes is a no-brainer. In saying that, has the rule banning them from bike lanes ever actually been enforced?
Children* riding on footpaths
A proper network of safe cycleways is the best-practice standard we should be aiming for. But these will never exist on every single street, and it will take a long time to create them on all of the streets they should be on.
Most parents feel a lot safer if their kids are on the footpath, especially when learning to ride. So, as with allowing scooters in bike lanes, allowing kids to ride on the footpath makes sense.
One immediate question – aside from the question of what age and type of bikes the rule change will apply to – is what about when a parent is riding alongside a child. Are they meant to ride out on the road while their kid wobbles along on the footpath?
The 2020 option actually went a lot further: it was to allow for anyone to cycle on the footpath, but with requirements to travel in a way that isn’t dangerous (including speed limits) and giving pedestrians the right of way.
It should be noted that footpath cycling is a deliberate safety choice for many people, including those new to cycling or a bit rusty, and especially where traffic is fast and heavy and there is no safe bike network. So questions around age, type of bike, and meaningful alternatives are bound to come up.
Another oddity of the current rule is that it is based on wheel diameter, and it technically bans all but the tiniest toddler stride-bikes while ironically allowing some small-wheeled adult bikes like Bromptons. (The current rule also has an exemption for people delivering mail and pamphlets, which is why you see the grunty NZPost Paxter vehicles on footpaths.)
Minimum overtaking width when passing cyclists
Again, this is another case where a full network of separated cycleways is the best outcome. Until that time, mandating that drivers must give people on bikes more space is a start, and has been long campaigned for – although it’s hard to see it being enforced in practice.
Requiring other vehicles to give way to buses exiting bus stops
A big issue with off-line bus stops (where a bus pulls over into a bus-stop bay) is that they impose significant delays on buses, simply because drivers of other vehicles often refuse to let those buses back into the main flow of traffic.
A few pushy car drivers doing this at each stop can quickly add up to very delayed buses, which makes services slower, less reliable and if it happens regularly, ultimately discourages public transport use. Research from 2017 suggested network-wide delays in Auckland of a total of 29.5 hours a day, just from this one factor.
The 2020 proposal was to make it mandatory for other road users to give way to any bus exiting a bus stop that has indicated for three seconds that it will be pulling out.
When will these changes be implemented? A fact sheet attached to the press release notes that some of these points were previously consulted on but suggests there will be more consultation on both numbers five and six in February next year, with the aim of having the changes signed off by June.
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The Auckland bus drivers need to go down to Chch and get some lessons. They were always very good at getting back into the flow of traffic. I also feel buses could do with much larger indicator lights at the rear. I guess that size is reduced due to advertising space.
No need after this law change.
I always let buses in, but it feels like the person behind is raising their fist at me. It used to be common practise in Auckland, now everyone is too busy and selfish.
I have been seeing some stickers on the rear of buses encouraging drivers to let buses merge in, as well as big orange signs saying ‘YIELD TO BUS MERGING FROM LEFT’ along Great North Road with the roadworks. This is great progress!
When I’m going home, I’m not stopping for any bus to pull out.
Neil – What are your thoughts on pedestrian crossings and red lights when you’re mind is set on getting home?
probably the typical cager “GRRAGAGH GRUG THE RED LIGHT IS OPPRESSING ME” or some schtick about there never being any pedestrians
typical victim-complex-havers.
After seeing the signs on the rear of Sydney buses years ago advising of the fine for not letting the bus go first, I’ve been amazed at how, once again, NZ has its head in the sand for simple things like this.
It’s this amazing. Simplified regulations achieved without the need for Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill. Who would have thought that was possible. 🙂
It did take years and years though…
This isn’t legislation, as I understand it, though? No need for parliament to be involved. Though the fact that Labour let NZTA drag this out for half a decade is very much on Labour’s govt and MPs.
No, these Rule changes go to Cabinet and can sit on the table gathering dust. Labour had them ready too close to the election and they might have suffered the same fate as the Speed Limit Rule.
A future positive transport plan:
1) Revive our national train network, prioritise electrification of this, to imitate the Central Rail Link that will revolutionise Tāmaki Makaurau’s ability to voom.
2) Actively discourage fossil fueled vehicles, by applying further taxes on oil at the pump, and emission taxes due to the toxic nature of the air emitted through exhaust pipes.
3) Stop creating conflict between the wheels. Bikes should have a lane, scooters should have a lane, buses should have a lane, cars should be phased out of existence. Skateboarders should be allowed in all lanes, because Skateboarders are the coolest of all the wheeled humans.
4) Build apartments in our city centres, over our transport hubs, and convert this motu from a backwater leaky boat of cold housing to a modern shining light of the future, where we ALL live in IVORY TOWERS!
bah humbug
Another of the lost proposals from 2020 is the practical requirement that drivers turning into side streets pause and give way to anyone walking, biking, scooting, etc across those streets.
This would be life-changing as well as life-saving – a simple and civilised shift that would rebalance the hierarchy on our roads towards the more sustainable, affordable (and by definition more vulnerable) ways of getting around.
Sadly forgotten, this could have reduced the need for as many raised safety platforms at side streets (though trusting your children’s safety to rules is not always enough).
Alas AT is specifically saying raised platforms over side streets can’t be installed because they would slow this turning traffic down. And thus the traffic behind it, presumably.
Was the issue forgotten? Or opposed?
Really? AT actually say that? I should t be surprised but that is so depressing
Aren’t they installing them on Great North Road right now though?
“Alas AT is specifically saying raised platforms over side streets can’t be installed because they would slow this turning traffic down”
Its a bit more complex, but yes, updated guidance in the relevant Practice Note 2 update does include the requirement to look at not slowing down traffic on the main route unduly.
“Raised devices are not permitted across side roads intersecting with arterials without an approved departure from standard that demonstrates the raised device does not obstruct traffic flow on the arterial road in normal conditions. ”
So they can still be done, but basically it is at AT’s discretion. If the people that be (overall, or in a specific project) dislike the idea, they can more or less kill side road tables with this if they want to. But yes, they can (and should!) still be done.
Yes, they should have bought this in at the same time. Drivers would be more alert & primed with all the new things to look out for.
Good on them for getting on to this!
It’s patently ridiculous that I can legally zoom down the footpath on an e-scooter while a 7 year old kid should be legally obliged to be on the road. And I think it’s poor of previous governments not to have updated these rules.
After some consideration, I now think that you should be allowed on wheels on the footpath if you’re going slow jogging speed or under no matter how old you are unless there’s a dedicated safe cycle lane. But definitely kids. And ideally the adult accompanying them (you can’t look out for your kid on the footpath and pay attention to the road at the same time). But not if you’re going fast, including on scooters.
I did a petition about this last year. I OIAd some of the Accessible Streets stuff that hadn’t been published. From what I got it looks like it got put off until after the election (read – turned down) at Cabinet.
The Petitions select committee heard from me and the Ministry of Transport (who were generally supportive) about it earlier this year. They haven’t put out a report yet.
I attached the documents I OIAd to my written submission (mostly Accessible Streets documents prepared for publication but never published – summary of submissions, disability & regulatory impact statements, Cabinet paper), and the MoT’s submission is there too now. https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/current?criteria.Keyword=%22shane+riddle%22&criteria.Author=&criteria.Timeframe=&criteria.DateFrom=2023-10-14&criteria.DateTo=&parliamentStartDate=2023-10-14&parliamentEndDate=&criteria.DocumentStatus=
Footpaths and cycleways should have speed limits. Sure no one will be monitoring them, but its better than the current system of judging by how many wheels / feet / CCs / kwH / etc the vehicle has.
As an e-bike rider and someone who generally rides at top speed (around 33km/h on my bike) on the cycleways, I don’t actually think this is safe. It should have a 25kmh speed limit IMO.
The last thing we need is more rules for people on bicycles. It all depends on the context. It’s perfectly reasonable to whizz down the top half of Grafton Gully if there’s no-one else there. Not so much the Ōrākei boardwalk on Saturday morning with all the walkers, runners and dogs (and other people on bikes) sharing the same space at the same time. In those circumstances, even 25k may well be excessive. It’s all about being considerate.
Also it’s not about e-bikes. The thing is e-bikes with pedal assist (generally up to 28 or 32 or 45k) don’t actually push any faster than you can go on a normal bicycle, if you push hard enough.. they just make it easier. And you can go uphill or into the wind a lot less slowly.
On the other hand, there’s a point at which an something isn’t and e-bike but an electric motorbike or moped. These usually don’t have functional pedals, and can often do 70k+. I think they need to be on the road. But they’re pretty rare (probably not road-legal) so I’m not sure it’s a priority.
We need a stronger word than “ironic” for the fact that these rule changes are being presented as “common sense”…
…while the same government and Auckland Transport have combined forces to raise speed limits on over 1400 streets in dozens quiet neighbourhoods, around major public transport hubs, and across the walking and cycling catchments of over a hundred schools.
Whatever this proposed rule change lands on in the way of detail – and whenever it kicks in – expect a widespread default to all-ages cycling and scooting on the footpath, as a natural consequence of higher traffic speeds and the ongoing lack of dedicated infrastructure. It’s just common sense.
The current minister is much more capable of determining “common sense” than the previous
The speed limits have been reverted to previous limits, they were only in place for a very short period, and mostly ignored, so I don’t expect much change in behaviour.
inb4 a certain someone comes back to whine about cycling on the footpaths being “cyclist entitlement and choice because i got hurt one time” instead of acknowledging environment shapes choice, and a road environment that gives 99% of the pie to Larry Remuera in his 3 tonne ute that’s never been offroad
There was no mention whether escooters will be allowed on footpaths. At the moment, they speed along footpaths, weaving all over the place and when I’m walking it is terrifying. They should be banned from all footpaths for safety reasons.
Presuming they will be allowed.
Also, lobby / advocate for as many cycle projects as you can, that way they’ll have a better area for them. Also submit on as many cycle projects as you see, all in favour of course.
It’s always puzzled me that we’ve had to wait so long for the “give way to buses exiting a bus stop” rule to be implemented, given that there is (or used to be) close co-operation between NZ and the Australian states and territories on these sorts of rules and standards. My understanding is that most if not all Australian jurisdictions have had the “give way to buses exiting a bus stop” rule for many years.
It is indeed ironic (I’m looking forward to your “stronger word than ironic” Jolisa!) that this rule may finally be introduced in NZ under this government. The most recent former Minister of Transport would presumably have stamped on this initiative on the grounds that it would “frustrate” or “inconvenience” motorists.
To be fair, it was in the works under the previous government and might have already been in place by now, but for the unfortunate change of ministerial personnel a couple of years ago.
But still – better late than never. I’ve always been of the view that this change, once motorists get used to it and start to comply, will be one of the most effective (and cost-effective) “bus priority” measures. It will reduce bus journey times and improve bus reliability, and incidentally will improve the productivity of both buses and drivers. This is a seldom mentioned or understood benefit of bus priority. Across the network, fewer buses and drivers will be required to provide the current level of service, or more frequent services will be able to be delivered with the current number of buses and drivers.
Given the government was funding millions of dollars for councils to built in-lane bus stops, this law change makes great economic sense. I’d love to see more simple and quick changes (lane priority, traffic light phases etc) be made to maximise the return from our PT investment. It seems like politicians love to announce big investment schemes like new electric buses and so on, then frequently neglect the finer details that really make a difference to our day to day experience.
Other traffic should also be required to give way to buses at roundabouts and the like.
As long as the bus drivers give at least 5 to 10 seconds indication before pulling out not like Australia just indicate and pull out
Three seconds is ample – about as long as it takes for the doors to close.
and the more car drivers get used to slowing to let the bus pull out, the quicker, easier and safer it’ll all be for everyone involved.
Hopefully. the growing popularity of Electric Unicycles (monowheel scooters) will be rationally included in the same legislation that covers eScooters, allowing them to also use the cycle lanes.
Every motor vehicle should be insured. Common sense.
Czech Republic had 3rd party cover in the cost of the fuel at the pump. You couldn’t go anywhere without being insured for whatever damage you might do. Government could bargain hard and at scale with insurers.
UK requires insurance, but enforcement is laughable and you’re left holding the can if someone hits and runs. Premiums are inflated because you’re an individual over a barrel.
Disappointing there is no mention of RUC. With more, and more EVs on the road and these now requiring RUC, hybrids and other fuel types, it’s time to get rid of petrol Excise tax, and have a simple and fare RUC for all vehicles based on size, not power source. However it also needs to be simplified without the ridiculous $20 admin fee per payment.
Speed limits in cycle ways are needed. Unpopular opinion I know, but e scooters go way too fast on the cycle lanes.
Looks like it’s impossible to get away from the need for enforcement.
In Manurewa we’d love a genteel plague of e-scooters to replace the 50-150cc pit bikes blatting down footpaths and reserves.
Its a bit like AI – lack of legislation is allowing reality to run away from authorities until the new bad default is established. Basically, we don’t enforce / have no or insufficient rules about what is allowed anywhere, so we end up with e-bikes getting stronger and faster all the time, as well as petrol bikes running havoc on paths too.
Speed limits? I don’t think they are too realistic, as we aren’t even controlling the big metal boxes (cars) properly and they are even more dangerous when they speed. The only viable way would have been limiting / making illegal too-powerful e-bikes / scooters and mopeds (maybe by power-to-weight ratio, to allow stronger cargo bikes). I.e. make it illegal to import or sell, or operate (including illegal uses being allowed to be confiscated). Not perfect either, but we don’t even seem to have that. E-bike that can do 50kph? Heck, why not, do you want some fries with that?
Oddly no mention here about the fact that this entire accessible streets package of rule changes got canned during the first Labour government because their coalition partner NZ First was lobbied so hard by Grey Power to not let cycles on footpaths. So quite remarkable that it seems like it might come back again with Winston once again holding the balance of power. It was incredibly disappointing and frustrating that Labour didn’t use their time of majority government to get this lot done. We are just lucky they got the Streets Layout Rule pushed through in 2023.
But I still don’t see why anyone keeps accepting this nonsense about e-scooters not being allowed in cycle lanes. It just isn’t true.
Look at the definition of a cycle and think about what a scooter is –
cycle—
(a) means a vehicle that has at least 2 wheels and that is designed primarily to be propelled by the muscular energy of the rider; and
(b) includes a power-assisted cycle
So a scooter has two wheels and is primarily propelled by muscular energy. QED a scooter legally is a cycle and so is obviously allowed in a cycle lane.
So what about e-bikes and e-scooters – well they are covered by the concept of a power assisted cycle. Something that basically meets the definition of a cycle but to which is attached 1 or more auxiliary propulsion motors that have a combined maximum power output not exceeding 300 W.
(They don’t really know what they mean by not exceeding 300 watts with either e-bikes or e-scooters so pretty much all of them are accepted even though many probably don’t meet that power output limit.)
If they let all e-bikes into cycle lanes then they also have to let all e-scooters into cycle lanes.
Still even with my grumbling i am pleased they are talking about getting onto this stuff. Maybe they will do some of the other accessible streets package as well – like berm parking.