A monster is on the way
The massive tunnel boring machine that will be used to dig the tunnels at Waterview has been officially handed over to the companies working on the project. When looking at pictures, it can be hard to realise just how big this thing will be.…
25 Comments Increasing PT Patronage
At Auckland Transport’s February board meeting there was a paper about the ongoing flattening of public transport patronage growth and ways in which Auckland Transport can look to grow patronage. Most of the paper consists of fairly boring excuses for the drop in patronage in recent months but towards the end of it there’s actually a bit of actual information on what Auckland Transport is trying to do about this drop.…
Disruption and Discontinuity: How Change Happens
One of the arguments commonly used against demands for more balance in transport investment between motorways and Transit or Active networks is that it would do nothing to change demand. Those with this position point to the current mode spilt in transport use and basically claim it is permanent, implying it is the result of perfect choice.…
Govt to force sprawl?
The governments new housing minister, Nick Smith has hit headlines this morning saying that he is going to smash Auckland’s Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL) in a bid to make housing more affordable. But the more you look into his statements, the more it appears that he has arrived at his position purely based on ideology rather than facts.…
How to link North Shore rail into the network?
There seems to be growing interest rail to the North Shore, perhaps mainly driven by the fact that one of the project’s biggest benefits would be putting off spending $5 billion on the stupidest transport project ever, another motorway crossing of the Waitemata Harbour.…
Good work NZTA
I was very impressed to see yesterday that NZTA have made the decision to publish all their OIA responses to media outlets (I wonder if we count?) on their website. Here’s the press release:
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is today launching a new addition to the media information section of the NZTA website, where the agency will publish its responses to Official Information Act (OIA) requests from media organisations.…
A ride on our first Double Decker
This morning I managed to drag myself out of bed a bit earlier than usual to make my way to town. The reason for this was to ride on the first double decker bus that is going to be used in Auckland and I was very impressed by it.…
Who supports the CRL, and who doesn’t?
Last week Michael Barnett and Kim Campbell of the Chamber of Commerce and Employers and Manufacturers Association co-wrote a good opinion piece supporting the City Rail Link. We know that the CRL is popular with the general public, however we are now starting to see a number of businesses and business groups also come out in support of it.…
Trams in Trouble at Wynyard
News this morning that Waterfront Auckland is looking to shut down the Wynyard Quarter tram.
The future of Auckland’s trams is on the line after a sudden decision by the council’s waterfront agency to withdraw funds needed to keep them running.…
My issue with the Transmission Gully PPP
Whether or not transport public-private partnerships (PPPs) are a good idea has once again reared its head in recent times – due to discussion about the Transmission Gully project near Wellington. The Transmission Gully project (which is a decidedly dodgy project regardless of how it’s funded) will cost around $1 billion to build, but because the construction will be done through a PPP the amount of money that will eventually be paid by NZTA is more like $3 billion.…
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