NZ Government announces ban on walking
RNZ reports:
As part of their ‘100 Day Plan – Phase 2’, the government today announced a ban on walking on streets and in most public spaces.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown says the move is part of the Government’s plan to boost economic growth and productivity.…
120 Comments Paying for the RoNS like Rail
Note: Consultation on the GPS closes at noon on Tuesday 2 April See our previous post on feedback guides and check out the Transport4All guide here. The Government’s Draft Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport contains many ideological burbs and inconsistencies.…
Climate change and the Draft GPS
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan
Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035.…
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.…
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.…
The climate will (continue to) deliver its own advice
Yesterday the Climate Change Commission released their final advice for the government’s second Emission Reduction Plan which will run from 2026 to 2030. Notably they titled the release: Government policies must add up to achieve climate goals
While the Commission’s analysis shows the country has made progress, it is not on track to meet its climate goals for the end of this decade.…
Labour’s 2023 Election Transport Policy
A few weeks ago, the government released the a draft of their next Government Policy Statement (GPS) on land transport for consultation, though it also effectively doubles as Labour’s transport policy for the election. The Ministry of Transport explain the purpose of the GPS as:
The GPS is the Government’s strategy for investing in the land transport system.…
National’s 2023 Transport Policy
On Monday, National launched its transport policy for the upcoming election, showing that at least National have learnt how to recycle, with the policy largely recycled from their 2020 campaign, which itself was mostly recycled from 2017.
As expected, the policy is almost all about building lots of big roads, once again using the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) name.…
Fares and Fuel to go back up
In March last year, shortly after Russia launched its horrific invasion of Ukraine, the government cut fuel taxes, road user charges and public transport fares “as part of a cost of living package“.
PT fares were halved while fuel taxes dropped by 25 cents per litre (almost 29 cents once you include GST) and initially were only meant to last for three months.…
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