Auckland Transport have released this new video for AMETI
I really think AT have got the messaging and tone right with this video which is nice to see. Also I really like that they talk about the poor situation currently for buses meaning they aren’t a good option and how that is a key reason for low use of public transport in the East. Even better is AT picking up on the terminology of providing congestion free choices when talking about the busway improvements that will eventually link Panmure to Botany.
As far as I understand, one part that isn’t quite right is the suggestion that the South-eastern busway will carry more people than the Northern Busway. It is true when comparing patronage on the Northern Express however the Northern Busway also carries a large number of other buses that boost patronage on it substantially. Still the South-eastern busway will be a very good addition once built.
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till the South-eastern busway will be a very good addition once built.
I think the operative clause for most people in that sentence is “once built”
They lay out a solution to solve some of the lowest public transport usage rates, but when you go an actually look up the SE busway at AT you find this https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/ameti/
•2017 Panmure to Pakuranga construction start.
•2021 Panmure to Pakuranga complete.
•2028 Pakuranga to Botany complete.
I mean If AT are truy serious about solving Botany’s problems they wouldn’t make them wait 14 YEARS for the solution…..
And the dingbat local politicians out there aren’t even lobbying for any bus priority further east along the daft traffic-clogged Pak Highway on any time scale: Auto-doomed by design. And they love it!
Howick/Pakuranga remains a PT wasteland – it’s like non-car modes of transport weren’t even figured into the planning way back when.
Yeah, I for one am sick of seeing several year timeframes for PT projects needed years ago. Why does the government spend hundreds of millions on roads when that can be better spent expediting these critical PT infrastructure improvements.
The dingbat local councilors out there in Howick/Botany are Dick (I hate everything Len Brown does) Quax, and Sharon (thick as a brick) Stewart, both highly parochial and right-wing Cit Rats (eg: National in disguise). Unfortunately they were elected unopposed… As for the Howick Local Board, a thicker and more narrow-minded bunch of right-leaning conservatives you’d be hard pressed to find. Not to mention that the local MPs are Maurice (I didn’t influence a police enquiry) Williamson and Jami-Lee (whaleoil’s stooge) Ross – the area is very badly served by its elected leaders unfortunately. Make them all wait 14 years – the residents will be screaming long before that.
maybe the residents get the politicians they deserve.
*written from Orakei, the Cameron Brewer’s kingdom…
Irrrespective of who their councillors are, ratepayers in North Shore and East Auckland are already paying for public transport. Rail lines to these places must be prioritised to match the opening of the CRL. Even though funding is not yet certain, planning ought to be advanced enough by now to make an almost immediate start once the funding is confirmed. Hopeless stuff from AT and Wellington.