Australasian patronage trends
This blog post has some excellent comparisons of public transport patronage across New Zealand and Australian cities. While all the cities looked at are of vastly different sizes (and therefore have vastly different patronage numbers), through comparing growth rates and per capita patronage, we can really have quite a good look at how Auckland stacks up against these other places.…
21 Comments Waterview Connection design details
Some pretty cool design details for the Waterview Connection project have emerged, and are worth taking a look through. Starting at the southern end of the project: The above picture shows the interchange with Maioro Street.
Shifting further along, you can see how the motorway will look as it passes through Allan Wood Reserve: It’s good to see that, while the motorway will be running effectively through the middle of a large green space, the leftover parts of that space are going to be really nicely landscaped.…
Are we using our buses efficiently?
Back in early September the council’s transport committee looked at three important reports: the annual screenline study of trips into the isthmus and CBD, a study of congestion levels and a benchmarking study which compared Auckland to various cities overseas. Quite rightly, most of the focus was placed on the bench-marking study, which highlighted how comparatively poor our public transport system is (not that surprising) and also how expensive it is for users (a bit more surprising).…
Guest Post – Integrated ticketing: An idea
This is a Guest Post by reader and commenter Louis Mayo:
I think most readers of this blog will agree that Auckland’s public transport fare structure needs a complete overhaul and you will probably be aware of Auckland Transport’s plan to roll out integrated ticketing over the next year or so.…
The regional fuel tax
One aspect of the government’s proposed changes to the Land Transport Management Act (LTMA) is the repeal of a provision which allows regional councils to introduce regional fuel taxes. Already the process to create a regional fuel tax seems quite complex, as the government was able to unilaterally cancel the Auckland scheme back in March 2009, delaying projects like electrification, Penlink and integrated ticketing – which had been banking on that money.…
Shared spaces proving successful
Research done by Auckland Transport shows that the shared spaces have been really successful in increasing the number of pedestrians along the various streets which have enjoyed the upgrades.
“The Queen Street upgrade and continuing city centre improvements are making the walking journey in and around the city centre much more desirable and attractive.…
The deal on discount rates
In a post a couple of months ago I looked at how the way we calculate the transport benefits of different projects ends up having a huge difference on its cost-benefit ratio. In particular, it was extremely interesting to note that if we had used the British discount rate and length of assessment when analysing the benefits of the City Rail Link project, it would have around five times the amount of benefit compared to the way such a project is analysed in New Zealand.…
An Auckland that could have been: the 1972 Auckland Rapid Rail Transit Plan
I had a few moments spare in the city library yesterday and thought I’d have a peek up at the Auckland Research Centre. This section of the library is great for finding old plans and proposal on anything related to transport or urban planning (by the way, just about every report, plan or meeting minutes from any council in Auckland is held on desk copy in the archives in the library basement.…
Transport in the next parliament
I discussed yesterday that early signs are not looking particularly great for public transport, as the government continues to plough ahead with its road-centric transport policies. Something else which is quite interesting is to start thinking about which MPs will be playing the crucial roles on transport matters in parliament.…
Subtlely reinforcing defacto motorways
Nelson Street and Fanshawe Street are pretty horrific roads to try and cross as a pedestrian – largely due to the high speeds that drivers travel at along them. You’re effectively stuck at trying to find one of the (very rare) signalised pedestrian crossings, or taking your life into your own hands by sprinting across when it looks clear.…
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