Ministry of Transport

Ministry of Transport

Context

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) is the government's principal transport policy adviser. The Ministry both leads and generates policy, and manages the interface with the transport Crown entities.

Ministry of Transport E-government Initiatives

• Development of a fuel economy website
• Sector review, emphasis on integration to achieve NZTS

Summary

Ready Access: MoT's website is of a good standard, providing ready access to information. The site has a particularly high level of accessibility.

Alignment: MoT uses its website to provide information only, because as a policy agency, it does not provide services. Considering MoT's role, alignment with the E-government Strategy is good. The Ministry was leading work to improve the level of information integration within the transport sector, although this has been put on hold because of the Transport Sector Review. Currently, MoT is leading an initiative for Transport sector-side collaboration on strategic planning which may include an integrated planning software tool.

Internet and Communications Technology

As a policy agency, MoT does not deliver services directly to the public. The MoT website is used to provide general information for the public about the Ministry and its role within the transport sector.

The MoT website has links to the other transport sector agencies. Contacts are provided on the website for people who want additional information from the Ministry.

The Transport page on the portal brings together the services that the sector currently provides. The MoT website is used effectively to show the inter-relationships between the transport sector agencies, and the services each agency provides.

MoT and the transport Crown entities have begun a process to coordinate the information technology (IT) within the transport sector, which includes work to identify an agency to lead the process. The process is to ensure that information sharing and access to information is efficient, cost effective and secure. It is also to make certain that IT investments meet the needs of the transport sector and align with wider government expectations.

However, this process has been put on hold because of the Transport Sector Review. MoT is currently leading an initiative for Transport sector-wide collaboration on strategic planning which may include an integrated planning software tool. The Sector now needs to consider the role of information management (IM) to support information sharing and service delivery, and especially how IM can help agencies work together to achieve the New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS) goal. The goal of the NZTS is to achieve "an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system".

Within the Ministry, staff use Lotus Notes to access and manage information, and access the Internet. MoT originally selected Lotus Notes because of its text searching capabilities, security, and workflow functionality.

Ready Access to Information and Services

Metadata

MoT has 13 metadata records including 6 services. Metadata is well written and accurate. The Ministry should continue to ensure that metadata management processes are in place, and additional metadata is created for areas of the website which are not currently accessible via the government portal.

Website Assessment

Websites assessed during May 2004 included: www.transport.govt.nz

but excluded the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalisation of International Air Transportation.

Overall, the MoT website is of a good standard.

The site's strengths are in accessibility and required government content, as the site has a high level of compliance with the Government Web Guidelines. Areas for potential improvement include information delivery and site usability.

Key issues noted during the assessment included:

• Good range, depth and presentation of information content.
• Usability and site navigation could be improved for easier use.
• Several broken links prevent access to some web pages.
• Many documents are in Word or PDF only, excluding people who are unable or unwilling to read these formats.
• Contact details could be more specific to enable responsive handling of enquiries.
• More inter-linking within the site would help people to find relevant information.

Alignment With E-government Goals

Convenience and Satisfaction

The MoT website provides a good level of access to the Ministry's information. People can use links to other transport sector agencies, download MoT reports and publication, and access the bi-annual MoT newsletter.

The website includes contact details, including general email addresses for people who need additional information. Contact details could be more specific and more prominent on the site.

Integration and Efficiency

The Ministry has for more than two years used the Internet to delivery an integrated ministerials management system for the Transport sector. Other projects to improve information access and sharing within the transport sector have been put on hold because of the Transport Sector Review.

Participation

The MoT encourages people to participate in government by encouraging submissions on strategies that can be downloaded from the website.