The Crown entity that administers New Zealand's RUC system, manages the $32.9B National Land Transport Programme, and regulates eRUC providers.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is the Crown entity responsible for the operational delivery of New Zealand's land transport system. It administers the collection of road user charges (approximately $1.9 billion annually), manages the National Land Transport Fund (funded by ~$4.1B in RUC, fuel excise, and MVR fees), regulates and approves electronic RUC providers, maintains the Motor Vehicle Register (4.59 million licensed vehicles), manages the 11,000km state highway network (carrying 55% of all traffic and 75% of freight), and operates safety cameras nationwide since July 2025. Formed in 2008 through the merger of Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand, NZTA is the operational arm that implements the policy settings developed by the Ministry of Transport. The 2024-27 NLTP commits $32.9 billion - the largest ever - including 17 Roads of National Significance.
Collects ~$2 billion annually in road user charges. Sets RUC rates (on MoT direction), processes RUC licence purchases via NZTA Transact portal, manages refunds and exemptions.
Certifies and regulates Electronic System Providers (ESPs) for electronic RUC. Currently four approved providers: EROAD, Coretex, Teletrac Navman, and Picobyte.
Maintains the national register of 5.9 million vehicles - the authoritative source for vehicle ownership, registration status, and RUC compliance data.
Manages the ~$3.9 billion NLTF funded by RUC and fuel excise duty, allocated to road maintenance, new infrastructure, public transport, road safety, and walking/cycling.
Online portal for purchasing RUC licences, vehicle registration, and other transport transactions.
Plans, builds, and maintains the 11,000km state highway network.
Land Transport New Zealand formed from Land Transport Safety Authority and Transfund New Zealand.
NZTA established on 1 August through merger of Land Transport NZ and Transit NZ under the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008.
First electronic RUC providers approved, enabling GPS-based distance measurement for RUC compliance.
Road User Charges Act 2012 passed, modernising the RUC framework and designating NZTA as the 'RUC Collector'.
Teletrac Navman approved as Electronic System Provider, expanding the eRUC market beyond EROAD/Coretex.
WoF scandal - nearly 20,000 vehicles recalled for re-testing. CEO Fergus Gammie resigns.
Agency places te reo Māori name 'Waka Kotahi' first in branding.
EV/PHEV RUC exemption ended (1 April). Simon Bridges appointed Board Chair. $32.9B NLTP launched. 120+ jobs cut. Board refresh.
Brett Gliddon appointed Chief Executive (February). NZTA takes over safety cameras from Police (1 July). Central role in universal RUC transition.
Board Chair
Former National Party Leader and Minister of Transport. Appointed March 2024 for three-year term.
Chief Executive
Appointed February 2025. Civil engineer with 18+ years in infrastructure. Previously led the $1.2B Puhoi to Wellsford motorway investigation.
Chief Customer & Services Officer
Leads customer-facing operations including licensing, registration, and RUC services.
Waka Kotahi NZTA is the operational administrator of New Zealand's RUC system. It collects approximately $2 billion annually in road user charges, certifies eRUC providers, manages the NZTA Transact portal for online RUC purchases, handles RUC refunds and exemptions, and oversees compliance. A current controversy centres on whether NZTA should expand its role to become a retail eRUC provider - competing with private sector providers like EROAD - or remain focused on regulation.
As NZ moves toward universal RUC, a key policy question is whether NZTA should act only as the regulator of eRUC providers, or also enter the market as a retail eRUC provider itself. Private providers like EROAD have expressed strong concerns that NZTA competing in the retail space would create an uneven playing field, given NZTA's regulatory authority and access to the Motor Vehicle Register.
Waka Kotahi warned the incoming government that it only had about half the funding it needed, with a shortfall of several billion dollars annually over the next decade. The agency said it could not deliver its existing National Land Transport Plan, with many projects deferred or delayed due to aging infrastructure, weather damage, population growth, and rising costs. In late 2023, Waka Kotahi gave the government an ultimatum, agreeing to accept a $3.1 billion loan only if the Crown provided written confirmation of a plan to resolve land transport funding constraints by 2027.
Under government cost-cutting directives, NZTA eliminated 183 positions across 2024 - including 120+ roles from cancelled programmes (Clean Car Discount, Climate Emergency Response Fund, Let's Get Wellington Moving) and 84 positions in the system leadership group. Most controversially, the agency's dedicated 20-person road safety policy team was scrapped entirely in August 2024, drawing criticism that safety expertise was being sacrificed.
In December 2023, Transport Minister Simeon Brown directed the agency to reverse its 2019 branding and place its English name 'NZ Transport Agency' before 'Waka Kotahi', making it the first government department to demote its te reo Maori name under the new coalition government's English-first policy. OIA-released emails revealed significant internal concern, with CEO Nicole Rosie telling the board the change was 'far deeper than a name' and staff raising questions about what it meant for their partnership with Maori.
The 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme marked a major policy shift, redirecting funding from public transport, cycling, walking, and the Road to Zero safety strategy toward 17 Roads of National Significance highway projects. The government effectively ended the Road to Zero programme's original targets, and Waka Kotahi halted work on many cycling and walking projects under ministerial direction. Critics argued the shift undermined safety and emissions reduction, while the government said it was reprioritising to reduce congestion and support economic growth.
