As noted in the post this morning, Auckland Transport have today launched a series of short videos with the theme of “Time to cool your love affair with your car?”

Love Affair heart break

Here are the five different videos all pushing a different alternative.

It doesn’t have to be a permanent split, but finding new ways to commute could give you a whole new lease on life. You could save money, improve your well-being and reduce your stress levels. Check out your options:

What do you think of ATs new campaign?

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27 comments

  1. Reduce stress levels?!!! the average Aucklander would laugh at that.I love PT and try my best to use it at all times…
    but the buses disappearing on the board…never appearing on time,skipping the stop because they are full,Trains constantly delayed or cancelled
    which then means I miss my connecting bus ( if one cannot make connections PT is useless))all add to stress levels….people like the independence of a car , sure you get stuck in traffic but so do the trains on the way to britomart [edited as in breach of our guidelines]
    at least one still has control of their mobility…
    you want Aucklanders to get rid of their cars
    2 words
    Frequency and Reliability
    and the fact that AT continues to fail at implementing this
    and will likely still continue
    will lead us to choose to vote in more roads…

        1. Yeah the way I read his comment was that people from countries with functioning public transport laugh at how much of a shambles ours his. I didn’t think he was blaming them at all, I don’t see how you could have read otherwise (unless you’re looking for something that wasn’t there), so as such, I think your seemingly automatic accusation of racism was a little over the top.

        2. I have a screenshot of the original comment. Due to grammar issues, it sounded a lot like Jonathan was blaming overcrowding caused by one ethnic group and underperformance caused by another ethnic group. On re-reading, I see that it was ambiguous and could be read either way (due to aforementioned grammar issues).
          If the intent was to say that people from the countries inferred by mention of those two ethnic groups* were merely comparing our services to theirs, then I apologise.

          * I say it that way because plenty of people from those ethnic groups were born and/or raised here and would consider themselves NZers.

    1. Well we’re working with decades of car focused development that needs to be unravelled to make a properly balanced transport system. Unfortunately motordom will fight every inch to build bus priority or train frequency as a waste of money.

    2. This is the reason Japanese trains have to run on time n some countries have devices for their bus to either keep lights green longer or turn it green earlier jst so things run on time so they can connect to their bus/train

      1. Auckland has that system, it will bring forward or extend a green light for an approaching bus.

        Main problem is where you have buses every few minutes the system starts to be useless, as you need a few cycles in between each to recover.

    1. Yes, I think they are trolling us. I’m not quite sure I understand these. Are they supposed to make us laugh or cry?
      PT in Auckland certainly does not reduce stress levels.

  2. Well the bus or train—fair enough, at least if you work in the CBD there’s a good chance you can commute to work using PT.

    Walking → first let’s see if someone can come up with the guts to build a walkable suburb. Recent developments (like Westgate or Millwater) don’t inspire much hope.

    Cycling → are they kidding me?

    OK, we get that flash cycleway along the Grafton Gully, and over the Spaghetti Junction. But: Cycle Action just reported on plans for a signalized intersection in Ellerslie, which comes with the typical pinch point where you have 2 narrow lanes at that traffic light.

    Nothing against bicycling, but I think advertising it like that is a bit premature.

    1. Being car dependent is not synonymous with being a car lover, the behaviour does not determine an emotion. This campaign risks making the people that are being targeted feel misunderstood, which is not a good start to any social marketing campaign, they’ll check out, not check in. Personally I think this is more likely to boost/ encourage those already behaving the “right” way and have limited effect on those that are driving.

  3. Trains are much better so that is a good option as are the NEX services etc. Driving is so bad in AK that most people would be very wary of cycling…(myself included), walking for most is a non starter, and if it was, I’d guess that they’d be already doing it. Nice try though..just doesn’t make sense really. Maybe AT need to get some feedback on their services from their customers…?

  4. Yea, Aucklanders want more roads, parking and motorways. Let’s build one through Dominion Road, one through Remuera and one around the perimeter of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour. And maybe let’s build a 12 storey parking building right next to your house to serve what people (i.e. you) want, more parking.

  5. Nice one. I cycle to and from work everyday and I sail past cars stuck in traffic. People are surprised I ‘brave’ Auckland’s traffic but if you’ve got your wits about you, pick your routes carefully (and get to know them) and cycle defensively (that is – as though everyone on the left is about to step out or swing their car door open, so gloriously frequent) then it is the best mode of transport. Sorry to all you haters, you don’t know what’s good for you!

    1. As much as I love cycling, the second half of your paragraph explains exactly why cycling remains a nice pursuit here. A daily activity where I have to act as if others are actively aiming to kill me?

      If I wanted that, I’d move to a country with loose gun laws and hang out in public.

      We need to make things a lot safer for people on bikes. Telling them about how great it is won’t work if their first experience of a ride is a hair-rising near-death experience (totally unimportant, by the way, how high the REAL risk is – it’s the perception that counts – I know several people who tried and gave up).

  6. The second video (flexi-time) guy has his 4WD parked over a footpath. Way to go AT… Just like when Kiwirail released a video of their contractors putting up a safety billboard, they weren’t really very safe with the ladders they used… d’oh.

  7. If you are overweight or concerns about too much traffic or the environment then you should consider walking or cycling period. You just need the guts to do it it’s not hard just easy to make excuses. I’ve done it for years it’s a no brainer unless you’re a Luddite. Be part of the solution not the problem.

  8. Aucklanders don’t have a love affair with the car, it’s just that most have no other choice. Instead many Aucklanders would take PT if it’s convenient and reliable, or cycle if it’s safe and pleasant.

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