Preview of RTF 2017

Sneak Peek: A chat with Road Transport Forum’s Ken Shirley

Road Transport Forum New Zealand started in 1997 with the aim to responsibly promote and advance the interests of the road transport industry and its member associations. Ahead of the Road Transport Forum Annual Conference, we chatted with Ken Shirley, Chief Executive of the RTF.

How is the conference shaping up this year?

“It’s been a really challenging year for the industry,” Ken notes, referencing the closure of SH1 in Kaikoura and the Manawatu Gorge, as well as the new changes in government. “The theme of resilience and adaptability is so timely and there’s a lot to discuss.”

The line-up brings together a range of presenters. He points out highlights such as the State Highway 1 Kaikoura update and review by NZTA and KiwiRail. “What they’re doing is quite extraordinary really,” says Ken. Metservice have also impressed him with their “remarkable” work on developing technology that can detect ice on roads.

A leading financial journalist, Bernard Hickey, will be speaking again this year with his address titled State of the economy and post-election update. Do not miss it says Ken, “He was fantastic last year. Bernard is a really good speaker and his presentation last year was very thought-provoking. There’s sure to be more meat in this years.”

He mentions that Mike Bennetts from Z Energy has a story which ties in well with Abbie Reynolds of the Sustainable Business Council. Overall there’s an incredibly strong line-up.

Ken is definitely looking forward to two parts of the conference: the sector meetings which are “always interesting and inspire a lot of animated and strong discussion,” and the social events at RTF such as the networking BBQ and the awards dinner, which are major highlights in the evenings.

Tell me more about the awards?

“We brought the awards in to promote and recognise successes in the industry and really give people a pat on the back,” says Ken, who’s happy to see that the industry has been positive about the initiative. There’ll be over 350 attending the evening this year. He is not giving too much away, but says, “Yeah we’ve had a lot of applications this year. We’ve got some finalists and the panel is now debating over the winners."

Teletrac Navman are sponsoring the innovation award for the second time in 2017. Last year’s winners were Kathy Ross, founder and CEO of iCOS LIVE and Zane Fulljames, CE of NZ Bus.

What are priorities for the industry in 2018?

“I think 2018 is going to bring a continuum of where we are now. The freight task is tied to the global economy, so we are affected by the global trends.” The need to be resilient and adapt to changes is certainly top of the mind. There’s a strong focus on productivity and, Ken says, a “push for bigger, newer, safer and fewer trucks.”

Ken says the industry is “awaiting on tenterhooks” to know more about the new government’s policies, “We just haven’t seen all the details yet.” There’s been a lot of investment into the Roads of National Significance over the last 8 – 9 years and Ken’s concerned to see where the funding for rail is going to come from.

And what is the outlook for the more distant future?

“The decarbonation of transport is a global phenomena and there are major changes ahead,” says Ken. He’s unsure of the speed of the uptake of electric trucks, pointing out that “manufacturers are building electric trucks, especially the smaller ones, but it could be some time before we see heavier models going electric, like the ones used in long-haul. In New Zealand it will take a while because of infrastructure and our topography.” Regarding automation of the industry he thinks that drivers will still be needed, but he anticipates they will have quite different tasks. “Vehicles will be built to interact with other vehicles and interact with infrastructure, but drivers will still be needed to intervene as required and keep track of all the other tasks outside of driving.”

Teletrac Navman is always interested to know what’s around the corner for the industries we serve. Come talk to us if you want to future proof your business with a GPS tracking solution and to know more about our RUC solution.