Manukau Rail Link – construction underway
Well at long last construction of the Manukau Rail Link has begun. This will be the first new stretch of railway to be built in Auckland in around 70 years (no wonder we’re so auto-dependent), and is a fairly short link between the existing Southern Line and Manukau City Centre.…
9 Comments Transport Blogosphere Round-up
Apart from Steven Joyce continuing to pander to his Road Transport Forum buddies, it’s been a pretty quiet day in terms of transportation news, so I thought I would direct people to what others are saying around the variety of transport-related blogs that I read: Auckland Trains details some of the timetable changes that took effect today, and asks whether the Southern Line can cope.…
Improving the Western Bays buses
I’ve been living in Herne Bay for a few months now, and I use the buses here pretty often – usually return trips into town 2-3 days a week. Occasionally I also go on a bus later in the evening, or at the weekend.…
Queens Wharf – the debate continues
The debate over what to do with Queens Wharf continues, as detailed in a couple of Herald articles today. To refresh the memories, a week or so ago the government and the Regional Council each stumped up $20 million to buy back Queens Wharf from the Ports of Auckland, so it can operate as a “Party Central” for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and then after that be opened up to the public.…
Metrobus for Auckland?
Buses are, by a very long stretch, the most popular form of public transport in Auckland. I think around 80% of public transport trips in Auckland are on the bus. However, generally bus travel is pretty unappealing when compared with travelling either by train or by car – because it is generally so slow.…
May 2009 Patronage Stats – solid growth
The May 2009 ARTA monthly business report has been released and – as per usual – makes interesting reading. Looking at public transport patronage, it says the following:
Patronage
• Total Public Transport patronage for the 11 months to May 2009 was 8.0% above last year.…
Onehunga Line – news at last
It seems as though the funding issues for the Onehunga Line, that resulted from the removal of the regional petrol tax, have been resolved. This follows on from a post I made a couple of weeks ago that related to progress being made between the ARC and NZTA to provide the necessary extra funding.…
Waterview Connection – update
Well it’s been a while since my last post on the Waterview Connection, and there have been a few interesting developments. So it’s probably worthwhile to give a bit of an update on what’s been going on recently. As I mentioned in my most recent post on the Waterview Connection, NZTA have released details of “the other two options” that they decided to not proceed with.…
Super-City Submissions due Friday
Submissions on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill close this Friday, so to make sure that you get your in on time I suggest sending it off by tomorrow at the latest. According to the Parliament website:
The bill provides for the governance structure of the Auckland Council, including the high level framework (structure, functions, powers, duties and membership), and the powers and functions for the Local Government Commission to determine the boundaries of Auckland, the names and boundaries of the wards and local boards, the number of local boards and number of members, and to develop a reorganisation scheme for the division of the Franklin District, and its council, between the Auckland Council and the Waikato District Council.…
Bus Issues
Usually my bus service is pretty reliable. I turn up at just before 8.25 am in the morning – at around 8.25 am a Birkenhead Transport bus rolls along, taking people over the Harbour Bridge to Northcote College. When I drive to work in Avondale I see the bus further back on its route – usually stuck in traffic along Meola Road.…
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