Active Investment: Evaluating the Benefits and Costs of Investing in Active Travel in the Urban New Zealand Context

Increased uptake of active travel is widely acknowledged to promote improved health, environmental and community outcomes. Although active travel participation rates in New Zealand compare favourably to other Anglo-Saxon countries, many northern European countries report active travel rates that are many fold higher.  In response to declining rates of active travel across New Zealand, the New Zealand Transport Agency created the Model Communities Programme. The goal of this programme was to boost walking and cycling rates in two demonstration cities, Hastings and New Plymouth, by improving walking and cycling infrastructure, as well as funding promotional and educational initiatives.  This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Model Communities Programme. This evaluation includes a quantitative appraisal in the form of a cost-benefit analysis. In addition to evaluating the economic efficiency of the programme, this study provides qualitative analysis derived from user intercept surveys and interviews with district council project managers to further assess the effectiveness of the intervention.  This study has found the Model Communities Programme to be cost-beneficial under several evaluative frameworks. In addition to this, the qualitative analysis has also presented largely positive feedback from both users and project managers. This study concludes that the Model Communities Programme has indeed boosted active travel in the demonstration cities, and that similar interventions are likely to be effective at promoting active travel across urban New Zealand.