Transportblog started seven years ago and we are immensely proud of what it has become. Equally, we are extremely excited about the way the Auckland is starting to develop. The city is already blessed with natural assets many cities can only dream of, but has for too long been let down by its built environment. In recent years that’s been starting to change – Auckland has been starting to realise that it’s actually a city and one that has huge potential. Of course, changing a city doesn’t happen overnight, and while we’re currently largely heading in the right direction the future of the city is far from certain.
In our view, the blog has been successful in helping to shape the conversation about how Auckland and other cities develop. Ideas like the Congestion Free Network have helped capture people’s imagination and show a different (and feasible) future for the city. We’re able to be successful thanks to all of you who read, comment and share our work. It has also allowed us to continue to grow and now get over 30,000 unique visitors having 90,000 sessions and viewing over 160,000 pages each month. As Metro Magazine says in its current edition, that “isn’t bad for policy wonkerism”.
For some time now we’ve recognised a need to provide some more structure to how we run the blog if we are to play our part in advocating for a greater Auckland. As such yesterday we formally launched GREATER AUCKLAND (GA) – a non-profit group that recognises Auckland’s untapped potential. We call for smarter thinking on the problems our city faces: investments in quality public and active transport, and more housing choice. Greater Auckland will own the TransportBlog domain and intellectual property, although individual posts remain the property of their authors.
TransportBlog will still exist and will still continue to operate as it always has, and we will continue to be the foremost advocates for improving public transport in Auckland (and elsewhere). We will also continue to advocate for better active transport, housing and other urban solutions.
One area we think it should help is in providing more clarity to organisations we work with and advocate to. As an example, in the past some organisations have been unsure how to deal with us – is the blog media or advocacy? In many ways it’s really a bit of both – and that confusion can affect how they engage with us and us with them. We believe that providing more formality around what we do should help in furthering our aims. It should also assist in how we undertake activities such as raising funds.
Greater Auckland’s main objects are:
- To provide commentary and encourage intelligent debate about transport and urban issues, in Auckland and across New Zealand.
- To advocate for transport modes and systems that provide choice and effectiveness, including, but not restricted to, public transport, cycling and walking.
- To operate a blog on transport and urban matters.
We’d like to be able to say that we are supported by thousands of people from Auckland and beyond. Showing your support is as easy as signing up as a supporter on the Greater Auckland website – it doesn’t cost anything and you won’t be bombarded with emails.
If you would like to help us further then we’d also like you to become a paid up member. The money raised will go towards supporting the costs of running the blog, as well as other things we have planned such as giving the blog a makeover. We also plan to use the funds to help support the advocacy we do. One example might be if we needed to hire experts to argue for us in a resource consent hearing. Membership is $50 per year although there is a lower price for students or unwaged members. In exchange for helping us you’ll also get the first chance to come to events we hold – such as meeting international experts who visit Auckland.
If you sign up as a paid member by the end of July, you’ll also go in the draw to win one of two copies of Britomart: The Story, a beautiful hard-bound 228 page book with stunning photography from Britomart Group.
If you think that our aims are worth working for, and you enjoy the work that we do on TransportBlog, please join us as a supporter or a paid member of the society. The more people that support us, the stronger our voice will be. Here are a few things you can do:
- Join us as a supporter or member
- Like or follow us on Facebook or Twitter at both @TransportBlog and @GreaterAuckland
- Give feedback in the comments below – what would you want this organisation to represent? What should our priorities be?
So thank you for all the support you’ve given us in the past and I hope you can join us in helping make Auckland even greater. Below are some images from our launch.
Lastly, I want to say a huge thanks to Emma, Niko, Kent, Luke and Ryan for all their work behind the scenes in organising this. Also a massive thanks to Ben from Inhouse Consult for his help with legal work to set everything up and Laura from Laura Dueker Graphic Design who created the logo.
https://twitter.com/JeffSmithNZ/status/612459988380815360
.@TransportBlog re-inventing itself as an incorp society: @GreaterAuckland @pv_reynolds pic.twitter.com/hhL02s887q
— Phil Twyford (@PhilTwyford) June 21, 2015
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The credit card form is still in testing mode. I do actually want to be charged this time 🙂
Thanks to everyone who came along to the launch yesterday, it was great to see so much support for the work the blog does and to meet a few of you.
May I suggest a slight change from:
“To advocate for transport modes and systems that provide choice and effectiveness, including, but not restricted to, public transport, cycling and walking”
to
“To advocate for the most effective mix of transport modes and systems for Auckland”
Is there a Credit card form? If so where is it on the site?
“JOIN US” used to work as a link but has been disabled.
It looks obvious in isolation, but I didn’t spot it at first as I skimmed over what looked like some social panel. Note to web designer: it would help if you made join us stand out (eg in a different colour) from the rest of the paragraph and add join us to the menu.
Hopefully they’ll announce again once the subscriptions work too.
I couldn’t find a way to join as a paid member. Is that still coming?
Keep up the great advocacy work. Good luck in getting the much-needed message out.
Where is the political connections disclosure? So far I see cross links from Labour and Unite Union. These aren’t nice people!
We have no connections to then other than they turned up to launch. We made it quite clear at the launch that we will hold no allegiance to any party. As for unite, never even talked to them before.
it would be great if you could formally acknowledge that. Previously, the blog has been very openly supportive of the Greens and damning of National. A lot of people are supportive of transport but are not supportive of specific parties, it would be good if Greater Auckland would formally state that they are politically neutral, might help people to be able to donate.
I think you are confusing support and critisizm of party’s policies with support of said parties. I’d love to see an example of this support/damination since the blog has apparently been so open about.
It would be hard for a political group to be politically neutral in any case, wouldn’t it?
Let me correct that for you: “supportive of the Greens’ policies and damning of National’s policies”.
There you go. If National wants to adopt the Greens’ transport policy, they will get just as much support.
Unfortunately their blind allegiance to the trucking and roading lobby means that will never happen no matter how much well founded evidence is presented to them. Exactly why forum’s like Transport Blog and GA are so important.
“These aren’t nice people!” Yes they are- I haven’t met a bad one yet.
political connections LOL. There are none. But being politically neutral is impossible. Some parties have idiotic transport policies and I expect this group to call them out on it using fact-based, sound arguments.
We invited people from across the political spectrum. Those who could or choose to did. Not aware of any official union people there, but then I don’t know any.
Our loyalty is to the city and we will, and do, criticise and praise policies at every level of government we choose. The focus will tend to be on the Council and Government of the day, as they are ones doing things.
But we are fiercely independent. Any new Council or Government will get as much scrutiny as the current ones, no matter who they are. Whether they are nice or not!
Surely your loyalty should be to New Zealand?
The planet, really. But yes, and one of our main principles is that the best way that Auckland can contribute to the whole nation is by becoming the best city it can possibly be. New Zealamd deserves its only city of scale performing to its best.
Interesting choice of name.
So what is Greater Auckland’s vision for Greater Auckland?
Will Greater Auckland (the advocacy group) support “transport modes and systems that provide choice and effectiveness” for Greater Auckland (exurb / rural sprawl)?
Interesting choice of name? That’s rich coming from someone who has named themselves after a robotic space drone in an obscure 1980s sci-fi novel! 😉
But yes, the pun is intentional. The focus of Greater Auckland is on making all of our great greater Auckland even greater… especially the exurban and suburban areas.
A robotic space drone in an obscure 1980s Sci-fi novel…. Thank you – I had been wondering. Congratulations to those launching Greater Auckland. I wish it every success. Auckland desperately needs to be greater.
Meanwhile, we have a Greater Wellington organisation that no one seems to want. You can have it if you want. Largely unwanted and totally unloved by all down here. One free Fran and a packet of steak knives with every purchase. Buyer must collect.