Related Initiatives and Planning Processes
Deregulation and Regulatory Reform
Since 2001, the Ministry of Transportation has cut red tape dramatically, reducing its regulatory requirements by over one-third. The ministry will support Government’s Regulatory Reform initiatives by committing to controlling regulatory burden and improving regulatory quality by:
- Identifying at least one regulatory reform opportunity that will shift the ministry’s regulations to be more citizen-centred, cost-effective, results-based, and responsive to our clients by reducing and/or streamlining the steps or business processes involved in complying with ministry regulations; and
- Adhering to the regulatory criteria set out in the Regulatory Reform Policy, and targeting a zero per cent net increase in regulation through 2008/09.
The ministry will also conduct annual reviews to look for opportunities to continue streamlining.
Information Resource Management Plan Overview
Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) tools help ministry staff plan, build, operate and maintain provincial transportation infrastructure.
The ministry conforms to government IM/IT standards and policies and is working to share data across multiple business applications.
Upcoming Major Projects
The ministry is focusing on delivering services electronically where practical, and it continues to enhance information security. Key projects include:
- The Road Inventory and Maintenance System, a database of road features, which helps in the administration of maintenance contracts;
- The Collision Information System, used to evaluate highway crashes to inform safety improvements to the highway network;
- The Development Approvals System, which supports the processes to review, vet and approve subdivision approval and permitting applications in rural areas outside municipal boundaries;
- Drive BC!, which uses Internet technology to collect and distribute road conditions, incidents and related weather condition information to highway users; and
- The redevelopment of the Commercial Transportation Management System, which issues permits for oversize commercial goods transportation across the province; and the Weigh in-Motion project, which uses automated truck scales to improve the tracking of carriers.
Citizen-Centred Service Delivery
The Ministry of Transportation serves the people and businesses of British Columbia by providing a safe and reliable transportation network. To ensure the ministry is meeting the needs of British Columbians, the following measures are in place:
Front Counter BC. This program, operated by the Integrated Land Management Bureau in an increasing number of regional centres, provides a single point of contact for natural resource businesses to get the information, permits and applications they need from all ministries at once. Services provided to ministry clients include subdivision approvals, permits to construct works on highway rights-of-way and road closures.
Extensive community consultation. Major ministry projects include significant consultation processes, which feature open houses, community meetings, newsletters, public information displays and advertisements in newspapers.
Contractor Assessment Program. Key stakeholders such as the RCMP, emergency response providers, major trucking firms and bus lines rate their level of satisfaction with road maintenance activities such as snow removal, mowing, patching and sign maintenance. The ministry works to resolve any concerns and takes past performance into consideration when tendering new contracts.
Annual surveys of customer satisfaction. The ministry uses annual survey results and public feedback to ensure British Columbians are satisfied with the ministry and to inform business process improvements.
