Poor Roads And Ferry Delays A Major Risk To Safety And The Economy
And there are major concerns delays over replacements for the Interislander Cook Strait ferries could have a big negative flow-on effect for the economy.
Billy Clemens, the Policy and Advocacy Head at Transporting New Zealand, says the vast majority (93 per cent) of respondents in the 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey agreed poor road maintenance is putting truck drivers and other road users at risk.
As well, a significant number (84 per cent), believed that regional roads and bridges are neglected, and that delays in replacing the Cook Strait ferries pose a major risk (79 per cent). (The survey was done before the announcement that the Aratere is to be retired in August.)
The 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey of nearly 200 road freight businesses was conducted in March this year by Research NZ on behalf of advocacy group Transporting New Zealand. The survey was also supported by the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association and Groundspread NZ. It represents the most extensive industry snapshot in over a decade.
"The survey painted a gloomy financial picture for business - only 34 per cent of those surveyed expected their financial situation to improve over the next 12 months, and only one in four respondents reported having sustainable operating margins," Clemens says.
Health, safety and wellbeing are big concerns for the industry, with 78 per cent of respondents calling for more purpose-designed rest stops for drivers, and 72 per cent saying it was important for drivers to have a good work-life balance.
About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.
Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
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Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
End of the line for Aratere ferry
KiwiRail has confirmed when its Interislander Aratere ferry is expected to make its final sailing. The ferry will be retired when Interislander ferry Kaiārahi returns to service following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. KiwiRail has announced it expects Kaiārahi to return to service at 3.30pm on 18 August and anticipates Aratere's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on the same day. Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Among those, this year a propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem, while last year the ferry ran aground in Piction and was unable to be refloated until the following morning. The ship, which first entered service on the Cook Strait in 1999, is being retired ahead of port infrastructure work being done in preparation for the new rail-enabled ferries set to arrive in 2029. Arartere's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project and as it requires specific loading and unloading infrastructure, it cannot use the other Interislander wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ferry's retirement was a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. "This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. "The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future," he said. To support rail freight operations, Interislander would use road-bridging, where rail freight was moved by trailer onto its vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. "Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation - including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes," Roy said. "Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings," he said. Roy said the business was still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel would be laid up at its Wellington berth while it worked with a shipbroker. A private farewell event for Aratere crew would be held early next month.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Final sailing date for KiwiRail's Aratere ferry announced
Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Photo: RNZ KiwiRail has confirmed when its Interislander Aratere ferry is expected to make its final sailing. The ferry will be retired when Interislander ferry Kaiārahi returns to service following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. KiwiRail has announced it expects Kaiārahi to return to service at 3.30pm on 18 August and anticipates Aratere 's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on the same day. Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Among those, this year a propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem, while last year the ferry ran aground in Piction and was unable to be refloated until the following morning. The ship, which first entered service on the Cook Strait in 1999, is being retired ahead of port infrastructure work being done in preparation for the new rail-enabled ferries set to arrive in 2029. Arartere 's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project and as it requires specific loading and unloading infrastructure, it cannot use the other Interislander wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ferry's retirement was a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. "This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. "The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future," he said. To support rail freight operations, Interislander would use road-bridging, where rail freight was moved by trailer onto its vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. "Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation - including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes," Roy said. "Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings," he said. Roy said the business was still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel would be laid up at its Wellington berth while it worked with a shipbroker. A private farewell event for Aratere crew would be held early next month.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Aratere's Final Sailing Confirmed
Interislander ferry Kaiārahi is expected to return to service at 3.30pm on Monday 18 August 2025 following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. Freshly painted and with its hull cleaned, and a comprehensive maintenance schedule achieved, the ship is running well and currently making good progress towards Wellington. Its return will mean Aratere can be retired and Interislander anticipates Aratere's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on 18 August 2025. Aratere's retirement is to allow essential port infrastructure work to begin in preparation for the brand-new rail-enabled ferries arriving in 2029. Aratere's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project. Aratere's design requires specialised wharf infrastructure to load and unload, including integrated rail tracks, so it cannot use Interislander's other berths. Interislander Executive General Manager Duncan Roy says the ferry's retirement is a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. 'This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. 'The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future,' says Mr Roy. 'As always, we encourage customers planning to travel during the peak summer season to book early and be flexible with their travel times.' To support rail freight operations, Interislander will use road-bridging, where rail freight is moved by trailer onto our vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. 'Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation – including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes. 'Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings. 'We are still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel will be laid up at its Wellington berth while we work with a shipbroker.' A private farewell event for Aratere crew will be held early next month.
