The NZ Transport Agency has entered into an Alliance with Fulton Hogan, Beca, Opus and the Resolve Group to operate and maintain the Auckland Motorway Network.  NZTA’s primary objective for the Auckland motorway network under this alliance is:

‘to provide a pleasant motorway network which road users confidently know they will be able to use to get to their destinations comfortably, safely and quickly at all times of the day or night’

NZTA’s secondary objectives are:

1. to improve consistency between peak and off-peak travel times on a per capita basis;
   

2. to improve value for money in delivery of NZTA’s largest regional asset management and operations expenditure;
   

3. to improve environmental sustainability;
   

4. to improve sustainability of the road maintenance and operation industry;
   

5. to improve the safety record of road users;
   

6. to improve the safety record of site personnel;
   

7. to enable economic growth; and
   

8. to enhance NZTA’s public image as a world-leading manager of public roads.
   

Peter Phillips is a member of the Challenge Group for the Alliance which began operations on 1st October 2008.  In the lead-up Peter lead the development of the communications strategy.  He helped shape the strategy using a logframe approach which has five purposes:

1. 1.AMA has a customer-focused culture;
   

2. 2.AMA has a detailed understanding of the demographics,

   

   knowledge, attitudes, expectations, aspirations, and behaviours of customers and stakeholders as network users, neighbours, citizens and agencies;
   

3. 3.Affected and interested parties are informed about network operations and maintenance in a timely and appropriate manner;
   

4. 4.AMA engages effectively with users, citizens, neighbours and agencies (including Iwi) to minimise environmental and social effects and enhance economic efficiency
   

5. 5.The reputation of NZTA is enhanced.
   

The communications strategy recognises the overlapping membership of the communications groups and emphasises two-way communications in the broader setting of sustainable travel in Auckland (in which the AMA is one of a number of active agencies), and the way in which individuals play multiple roles.

Ros Brown, who joined Dialogue in March 2012, was the first Stakeholder Communications Manager for the AMA, a role which she held until 2011 before taking the position of National Travel Information Services Manager for NZTA. 

While at the AMA Ros was responsibile for implementing and further

developing the communications strategy.  Her tasks including implementing a branding strategy, managing the implementation and development of the system for receiving customer contacts and allocating the follow-up workflow.  Ros also initiated a number of projects on the motorway network in response to maintenance issues.  This included a campaign targeting overheight loads.  A particular issue was poorly secured equipment - the unsecured arm on a digger hit the underneath of an old overbridge at Onewa Road on the Northern Motorway just days after the AMA began operations!  A woman in a following car showered with concrete was lucky to escape injury while the closure of the southbound lanes caused widespread traffic disruption.