The GPS is a disaster for local government
One thing that’s not been reported much yet about the catastrophically bad draft Government Policy Statement released on Monday is what it means for local government around the country. Reading through the document, it was a bit surprising how little local government was mentioned at all – seemingly ignorant of the massive role district and regional councils play in delivering transport services and infrastructure.…
The Government’s Ideological Transport Policy
Yesterday the Government launched their draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) for Land Transport for consultation, replacing the draft version that Labour released last year prior to the election.
As the name implies, the GPS sets out the government of the day’s transport policies and planned spending on transport, over a 10-year horizon – although is refreshed every three years.…
It’s March Madness Time again
We may still be in February but yesterday marked the start of March Madness, typically the busiest time of the year for transport of all modes. That’s due to a number of factors, such as: The summer holiday period is over meaning All schools and now University’s being back – and for the latter when expectations are high, before some eventually lose interest and start to drop out.…
February-24 AT Board Meeting
Tomorrow the AT board have their first meeting of the year. it will also be the first meeting for new chair Richard Leggat.
You can watch the open session on this Teams link with the meeting due to start at 10am.…
Will the 2024 RLTP be yet another debacle?
A couple of years ago, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport found themselves in court over the 2021 Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP).
A non-profit alliance for transport decarbonisation, All Aboard Aotearoa, argued that among other factors, the RLTP was unlawful because it failed to give effect to the 2021 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) which focused on reducing emissions and tackling climate change.…
Fuel Tax Fight and Rail Fail update
The two stories we covered at the start of the week continue to be in the headlines so it’s worth looking at the latest for each of them. Regional Fuel Tax
Mayor Wayne Brown promised some ‘argy-bargy’ over the government’s decision to cancel the Regional Fuel Tax and he’s followed that up by requesting that AT stop work on all projects funded in part by the RFT, including those Minister Simeon Brown has listed as his priorities – though it also includes some good projects like Gt North Rd and his comments around cycleways and safety programmes leave a lot to be desired.…
Auckland’s Persistent Rail Issues
Over the last few weeks in our weekly roundup we’ve commented on the frequent delays and cancellations that have occurred on the rail network this year since the rail network went back into full operation on the 22-Jan – with Kiwirail proclaiming they had ‘successfully delivered summer holiday infrastructure upgrades across NZ‘
Things have been so bad that of the 14 weekdays (not including public holidays) we’ve had since the rail network has been back in full operation, there have been delays and cancellations caused by track faults, crew shortages or other issues on 12 of those days.…
The Government’s War on Auckland
The government has launched a war against Auckland, seemingly determined to take away the city’s choice for how our transport network is built and funded. Combined with other recent decisions, this will leave Aucklanders with less choice in how we get around, more congestion, higher emissions with higher numbers death and serious injuries than we should have.…
Briefings to the Incoming Transport Minister (Simeon Brown)
Anytime there’s a new government and/or minister, the associated agencies produce a Briefing to the Incoming Minister (BIM) to help them get up to speed. They also have the advantage over many policy documents in that they historically tend to represent advice unfiltered by political policies and promises.…
What should be next for public transport in Auckland
With the demise of light rail, the question arises of what next for public transport in Auckland. That was the topic of an interview I had on Radio NZ yesterday, but I thought it was worth expanding on that some more with what I think should and shouldn’t be the focus.…
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