Achieving the Public Land Transport Authority Vision

Much effort has been made by the government of the Republic of Vanuatu and stake holders towards achieving the Vision of the Public Land Transport Authority since 2015. The efforts have been particularly towards standards of vehicles used for public transport, greater orderliness at the airport and international wharf, shift in culture for greater public safety and security of public land transport users, improvement of infrastructure and higher tests for road worthiness
There are many challenges in achieving all the objectives and strategies of the PLTA. These include limited financial and human resources, and high costs of business in Vanuatu, the “liassez-faire” culture that often sacrifices standards and safety, limited access to credit and high cost of finance in Vanuatu.
“Sustain and Broaden Economic Benefits of Public Land Transport” Realising the PLTA mission by 2022 will require concerted and coordinated efforts to effect change management that will allow Vanuatu to sustain and broaden economic growth from land transport activities in the country.
Achieving this vision requires continued investments in transport and infrastructure. Improving service delivery requires policy and political stability and an accountability framework that raises standards of governance both at the political and public service level and consequently in the PLTA and also with the Provincial Land Transport Associations, sub-association and individual privately owned Public Land Transport entities.

“Address Emerging Challenges” The PLTA SAP2018 notes that climate change, international trade agreements and technological advances will need to be monitored in order for consequential re-write to be made to the plan as dynamic shifts could impact on the business environment of Public Land Transport. Hybrid cars as an example, delivery of medical supplies from the Northern District hospital to the West coast of Santo using drones is a paradigm shift that could point to future transportation of goods and people by air that must trigger re-thinking by all PLTA stake holders

   Strategic Priorities

The PLTA SAP2018 identifies seven Strategic Priorities to achieve the PLTA Vision. For each Strategic Priority there are Policy Objectives with associated Strategies to achieve the objectives.

The Strategic Priorities are:

1. Private Sector Driven Land Transport and Employment Creation.
2. Stability and Equitable Growth of the Public Land Transport.
3. Good Governance of Public Land Transport Authority
4. Land Transport sector development, climate change, technological risk, financial risk and risk management.
5. Provision of improved safety and security of Public Land Transport Services.
6. Education and human resource development.
7. Public Land Transport Infrastructure and Support Services.

All the policy objectives and strategies in the PLTA SAP2018 need to be addressed. The Strategic Priorities are inter-linked and complement each other. Failure to implement policies in one Strategic Priority hampers implementation of other Strategic Priorities. For example, slow progress in education and human resource development will adversely impact on the achievement of policy objectives in Good Governance of Public Transport Authority.
Private Sector Driven Land Transport and Employment Creation Public Land Transport in Vanuatu is driven by the Private Sector. Public land transport activities employ a large number of people in the municipalities and Provinces of Vanuatu.
Growth in both Agriculture and Tourism, - drivers of Vanuatu’s economy, - need public land transport to be responsive and effective.
Expansion of infrastructure in Santo, Malekula and Tanna will no doubt result in consequential increased private sector investment in Public Land Transport. Employment of public land transport operators will increase with increased investment. Public transport support services will increase employment parallel to the increased private investment in public transport vehicles.
   Policy Objectives and Strategies
Policy objectives and strategies are to improve returns on investment in the public land transport sector and better conditions for operators of public land transport. At the same time, the improved regulatory environment and greater enforcement will weed out marginal players and enable a healthier environment for improved benefits for private sector stake holders in the land transport services.
An objective is skills development in the public land transport that allows cross-accreditation regionally to facilitate supply of drivers into Australia and New Zealand as part of the SWP and RSE.

   Stability and Equitable Growth of the Public Land Transport
The Public Land Transport Act of 2015 is soon to be followed by the Commercial Government Business Enterprise Unit bill which will set the firewalls against political prerogatives infecting statutory corporations and effect professional appointments that will be vision and mission driven. This will assist the PLTA to be stable.
Public Land Transport Associations are being established as investment in road infrastructure has intensified, particularly on the islands of Tanna and Malekula. Roads are also improving on Ambae, Pentecost and some islands of TORBA Province with funding support from Roads for Development (R4D) and Climate Change Adaption funding. These investments are helping to set the platform for growth in the Public Land Transport in Vanuatu.
Challenges

This strategic priority of stability and equitable growth in public land transport will be challenged by regulatory and enforcement capacity, limited options for cost effective financing and insurance, need for cultural shifts to involve women better in public transport and challenges of effective upskilling of youth to engage fully in public land transport that still guarantees safety and security.

There is a recognized need for greater overall business and financial management to improve wellbeing of all stake holders in the public land transport activities.

PLTA recognises that procurement arrangements need improvement to lower factor input costs that influence the tariff rates for public land transport.
Policy Objectives and Strategies

Policy objectives and strategies include the bulk purchasing, access to finance, advocating for change to insurance of public vehicles, effective training for public transport operators, and change of culture in the public land transport services to facilitate female participation in ownership and operation.
   Good Governance of Public Land Transport Authority
This strategic priority is divided into four policy objectives covering a variety of governance issues.
The four policy objectives cover administration, finance, board appointments and evidence based rulings particularly in the setting of tariffs.

   Keeping Simplicity and Performance Management

Public land transport is key to the livelihood of the people of Vanuatu. It facilitates movement of people and goods. It also generates income streams for families in Vanuatu. Public Land Transport also contributes to employment. It is the entry point for numerous NiVanuatu into business. Public Land Transport is also an achievable aspiration for Ni-Vanuatu who dream of getting away from subsistence economy into the Modern Economy.
The above mean that the Vanuatu government must only come into the Public Land Transport Activities to regulate safety, security, minimum qualification standards of operators and emission standards including noise levels and exhaust fume standards.
While tariffs must be controlled for the benefit of customers, it must be acknowledged that the Vanuatu public transportation already has a good foundation to build on while PLTA facilitate the external threats stemming from the need for greater bulk purchasing and adoption of emerging technology.
Provincial Public Land Transport Associations and sub-associations need to be strengthened. The approved structure of the PLTA needs to be staffed with good and qualified people. Funding needs to be appropriated. The processes of road worthiness, licensing and permitting of all vehicles and operators in 2018 need to be learnt from. Practical steps will need to be made to ensure that funds collected is effectively invested to continue to build Public Land Transport Activities to grow from strength to strength.

   Monitoring and Evaluation

In order to ensure that results are being achieved, PLTA Board will systematically monitor and evaluate its own performance in achieving the outputs and outcomes specified in the Strategic Action Plan 2018. The PLTA CEO will coordinate this work.
PLTA Board’s commitment to monitoring and evaluation stems from the understanding that continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of public land transport services is the only guarantee of viability of the current arrangements. All stake holders must be involved in open and honest assessment of the performance of the PLTA. As such the PLTA is open to learning, feedback and knowledge sharing on results and lessons learnt from the experience of implementing the objectives and strategies contained in this Strategic Action Plan.