Tauranga is growing, and we can't deliver every transport project at once.
Working with our regional transport partners, we're seeking your feedback on what matters most to you. Your feedback will help shape the 2026 Transport System Operating Framework (TSOF) and inform future Tauranga City Council transport priorities and investment decisions.
Whether your priority is improving safety, reducing congestion, supporting growth, moving freight more efficiently, improving public transport, or making it easier to walk and cycle, we want to hear from you.
Why are we asking?
Tauranga continues to grow, creating increasing demand on our transport network.
At the same time, funding is limited and not every transport project can be delivered at once. Decisions need to be made about where investment should be focused, and which improvements should be prioritised.
Community feedback will help us better understand:
- The transport outcomes that matter most to our community.
- Use of cycle infrastructure and gaps in the network.
- The challenges people experience when travelling around Tauranga.
- Attitudes towards growth, congestion, safety and sustainability.
- Preferences for future transport investment.
- How people think transport funding should be prioritised.
This feedback will help inform future transport planning and investment decisions.
What is the Transport System Operating Framework (TSOF)?
The Transport System Operating Framework (TSOF) helps Tauranga City Council and its transport partners identify which major transport improvements should be prioritised and when they should be progressed.
It considers community priorities, transport challenges, growth, network performance and funding considerations to help guide future transport investment decisions.
The TSOF does not approve or fund projects. It is a framework that helps inform which major transport improvements should be prioritised over time.
What are we asking?
We're seeking feedback on what matters most to you when it comes to Tauranga transport.
This includes:
- Transport outcomes and priorities.
- Cycling infrastructure priorities and gaps in the network.
- Local transport challenges.
- Future transport investment and funding trade-offs.
- The sequencing of future transport improvements.
- Travel choices and how people move around the city.
What can I influence?
Your feedback can help inform:
- Future transport priorities.
- Decisions on cycling infrastructure.
- Transport outcomes and investment preferences.
- The development of the 2026 TSOF.
What can't I influence?
Projects that are already funded, committed or underway through current delivery programmes are not part of this engagement.
The TSOF is a prioritisation framework, not a decision to build. It helps identify the relative priority and sequencing of major transport improvements but does not approve or fund individual projects.
The TSOF focuses on significant strategic transport improvements and does not include every transport project or activity across Tauranga. If a project is not shown, it does not necessarily mean that no transport investment is planned for that area.
Future delivery decisions remain subject to funding availability and statutory planning and funding processes.
Funding and investment
Transport investment is funded through a combination of local and national funding sources.
Some projects may be eligible for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi co-funding, while others may require a greater local funding contribution.
If Council chooses to depart from the TSOF and the transport priorities set by the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS), those projects are unlikely to qualify for NZ Transport Agency co-funding. That means Council, and ratepayers, would need to fund them on their own, in full.
Understanding community priorities will help inform future investment decisions and support discussions about how available funding should be used to achieve the outcomes that matter most to Tauranga.
What happens next?
Once engagement closes, we'll review and analyse all feedback received.
The findings will help inform development of the 2026 Transport System Operating Framework and future transport planning and investment discussions.
We'll share a summary of what we heard and how feedback has been considered once the engagement process is complete.