Some more good news that the NZTA has agreed to help fund both the Manukau and Otahuhu interchanges.

Two keys projects linked to the upgrade of bus and rail services in Auckland south have received $1.6m in funding from the NZ Transport Agency

The Transport Agency will fund $780,000 for the design of a bus station at the Manukau transport interchange, and $831,000 for the design of the bus/rail interchange at Otahuhu.

The funding represents a 50% share of the design costs for both projects, which are being led by Auckland Transport as part of its comprehensive programme to improve public transport services across the city.

The Regional Manager for the Transport Agency’s Planning and Investment Group, Peter Casey,  says providing people with more frequent public transport services was a key factor behind the funding decision.

“The development of Auckland Transport’s new interchanges at Manukau and Otahuhu will promote greater use of buses and trains,” Mr Casey says.

Auckland Transport’s Chief Development Officer, Claire Stewart, welcomes the funding.

“These two interchanges are an integral part of Auckland Transport’s on-going upgrade of transport infrastructure in the south.  We want to provide facilities which will improve the experience for our customers,” she says.

Mr Casey says the Transport Agency provides funds for several of Auckland’s big public transport projects including the electrification of the rail network, the roll-out of the one ticket electronic HOP card, and the development of AMETI (Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative) to improve travel for both drivers and people who use buses and trains.

It would be good to see what the final designs are that have been approved.

Otahuhu interchange proposal
Otahuhu interchange proposal
Manukau interchange plan
Manukau interchange plan

It’s also interesting that the NZTA are the ones making these announcements. The cynic in me wonders if three are softening us up for a big roads announcement.

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11 comments

  1. I can’t imagine NZTA are as singularly roads-focused now as a review of their past projects might indicate, but we need to keep scrutinising them and being vocal about provision for other modes of transport.

  2. I actually don’t think NZTA is all that road focused. I can imagine them being more PT friendly if the government actually lets them be….

  3. Whoop-de-doo: chicken feed compared to the $70million NZTA/AT are spending widening a bridge for cars at Western Springs, you know, the euphemistically named ‘St Lukes Interchange’. More spin from motorway central.

    1. This is just design funding – getting that implies that NZTA is pretty happy with the idea of building them later (doh) and that will be a bigger chunk of co-funding.

      Admittedly, even that much bigger construction funding batch will still be smaller than NZTA’s typical roading projects. But as others above have said, that isn’t even really their fault – at least on the pure money basis – because there, they have to adhere to the Wellington straightjacket as to how much they can fund what type of project.

      No question that NZTA has lots of petrolheads, and also lots of in-theory-mode-agnostic people who have built so many car-focussed projects they have, on some level, accept them as “normal”. But they can do better if we (voters, via government) let them…

  4. 3.2 mil to fund the design of two transport centres?
    How many consultants getting paid how much an hour for how long makes up that figure

    1. It presumably involves all the construction design, consenting process, plant, electrical engineering design etc…. And yes, designing two large-scale buildings costs a lot of money. There may well also be some works in the surrounding areas involved, and possibly (not sure) associated route and operations planning. As to whether this is an *inappropriate* lot of money, I wouldn’t know, not involved in the project…

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