Category: Transport Minute

Justin’s Transport Minute – 02/12/2022

We’ve all managed to take a bit of a breath after a hugely successful TMC Trucking Industry Show which saw nearly 40,000 people check out what was on offer on Saturday – pretty much double what we had anticipated. And a really fantastic result for the industry – well done to NZ Trucking Assn for running such a great event.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 25/11/2022

This week’s TMC Trucking Industry Show promised to be a ‘complete trucking festival’ and boy did it deliver. I’m writing this on day one of the Show, and I have to say it looks like tomorrow is shaping up to be even bigger day which is awesome.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 18/11/2022

This week NRC have been preparing our response to Waka Kotahi’s Interim State Highway Speed Management Plan consultation. We’re working closely with the NZTA managers and are highlighting that one of the biggest underlying contributors to road safety is well-maintained roads. Every day we see evidence that road maintenance has been underinvested in, and bad weather is accelerating damage while maintenance is already well behind. Diverting of roading funding away from roads to support climate change initiatives is just adding to the problem.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 04/11/2022

This week’s member road trip saw me head to the sunny North! I started my trip by continuing my tour of our ports, followed by member briefings and one-to-ones with operators.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 28/10/2022

Over the last week I’ve managed to visit both the Ports of Tauranga and Auckland. In Tauranga I spent time with Manager Terminal Operations, Grant Wilson and the team, who gave me insight into how critical expansion of the wharves will be to allowing the Port of Tauranga to grow and meet the future needs of the community over the next 30 years. It was impressive to see up close the efficiency of the trucking operation at the container terminal, and how well transport operators and the Port work together.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 21/10/2022

This week we launched our new partnership initiative ‘Snap Send Solve’. Speaking to members over the last couple of months the number one concern I’ve heard is the state of our roads, and that the number of potholes and other serious hazards have sharply increased, putting road users at risk.

We felt it was important to act urgently on this issue as road safety is critical. NRC met with the team at Snap Send Solve who have a really easy to use mobile phone app where you can post problems on the roads direct to your local council. Snap Send Solve provides one central location for issues to be recorded and councils to be alerted so they can take immediate action. They can send reports to every single council and roading authority in New Zealand.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 14/10/2022

This week, New Zealand almost unanimously voted for change in the country’s local body elections with new mayors elected in many of our major cities and a sharp tilt to the political right being felt across the board. With many councils welcoming a number of new councillors, many who may be unfamiliar with the transport industry, our priority now is to make sure we are connecting with the relevant transport infrastructure sub-committee’s or transport leads in each council. While they work through this period of change, our focus is on offering assistance on the key transport issues and ensuring they know who to reach out to at NRC.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 07/10/2022

Another week of some extreme weather across the country, which means more high-profile road damage and potholes to be fixed. NRC members in Northland are all too familiar with this. State Highway 1 has nearly 40km closed in the Mangamukas, and there are serious questions whether some parts will ever be rebuilt. Down the road the Brynderwyns are down to one lane, causing over one hour waits.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 30/09/2022

This week, appropriately enough given its Mental Health Awareness Week, I’ve had my first taste of the realities truck drivers face on the road all too often. One of our members called me for a chat, and dropped into the conversation that they’d recently been first to arrive on the scene at a major road accident, sadly with fatalities. Confronting doesn’t begin to describe what he saw. When I asked if he was alright, there was a pause, and then a simple “no, I’m not”. This honest and completely human response impressed me, and made room for a chat to make sure he was taking steps to get looked after. Thankfully he’d already reached out for support.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 23/09/2022

This week I have a couple of thoughts to share.

Accident on the Auckland Harbour Bridge illustrates need for greater resilience in our road network. Sunday’s accident on the Harbour Bridge acts as a reminder that we are often only one incident away from entire communities being cut off. Strengthening the resilience of our roading infrastructure needs to be given far more focus that it is currently.

Justin’s Transport Minute – 26/08/2022

Well, two weeks in and I am feeling very welcomed by the NRC Team, our industry partners and members. It’s a huge industry to get to grips with, but an exciting one with loads of opportunities and challenges.