Transit New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transit New Zealand (Māori: Ararau Aotearoa) is the Crown entity responsible for operating and planning New Zealand's State Highway system (about 12% of New Zealand's roads). In this function, it also concerns itself with local developments close to the State Highways, as it considers the potential additional traffic these would create.

It has about 350 staff, and an annual operating budget of over NZ$1 billion. Almost all of its funding is approved by the government's land transport funding agency Land Transport New Zealand through the National Land Transport Programme. Until 1996 Transit approved subsidies for passenger transport services contracted by regional councils, and in that year this function was transferred to a new entity, Transfund (now Land Transport New Zealand).

Transit NZ has come under some criticism for being 'anti-development', as it often lodges objections to resource consent applications which in its opinion create safety or capacity problems on close-by motorways.