A Hollow Victory for Auckland Council

On Friday last week, the High Court released its decision on the All Aboard Aotearoa (AAA) vs Auckland Transport and Auckland Council judicial review. The topic was the decision-making around the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). This plan estimates its investments will lead to an estimated 6% increase in Auckland’s transport emissions by 2031, and that the Government’s clean car policy and shift to biofuels mean the final result will be a paltry 1% reduction.…
59 Comments

Luxon’s Subsidy Slip

National Party Leader Chistopher Luxon caused a stir yesterday after attacking public transport spending in response to questions from journalists. The case for ongoing public transport subsidies does not stack up, National Party leader Christopher Luxon says. As part of a package to ease financial pressure, the cost of public transport has been halved from April through to the end of June.…
70 Comments

Wanted: Change Agent

The job advertisement for new CEO of Auckland Transport was posted on Monday, with a closing date of 31 March 2022. Just ten days to get your CV together or shoulder-tap your ideal candidates! Here’s the role in a nutshell: AT is seeking an exceptional Chief Executive to lead the organisation.…
30 Comments

A New Commissioner for Active Travel

Waka Kotahi’s leadership have been defending the need for investment in cycling. Good on them. At the Waka Kotahi Annual Review, MPs asked about the high per km cost that Auckland Transport uses for cycling infrastructure. In reply, General Manager Transport Services, Brett Gliddon, gave an excellent explanation of the difference in cost between reallocation of road space and building new infrastructure: cycleways are delivered in two key strategic ways.…
44 Comments

A Safer Course

Image Credit: Boating Safety Mag  Waka Kotahi CEO Nicole Rosie recently penned an article on Stuff, about the tragedy of our road safety crisis, in which she reminded us that safety needs to be approached from several angles. She made the excellent point: why isn’t this massive public health issue in the spotlight throughout the year, not just during the holidays or after a “bad weekend” or a high-profile crash?…
58 Comments

Turning the Waka Around

HMNZS Taranaki, Otago, Waikato, Canterbury Credit: National Museum of the NZ Navy  This year should see a lot of changes at Waka Kotahi. At the end of May, the Ministry for the Environment intends to publish its Emissions Reductions Plan (ERP), which will lay out the policies and strategies for meeting the first emissions budget.…
51 Comments

2022 – The Year Ahead

Welcome to 2022. After wrapping up 2021 before Christmas, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see in 2022. Overall it appears that COVID will continue to loom large over the year and will be a major factor, potentially directly but certainly on things such as travel patterns.…
49 Comments

AT’s CEO Resigns

There was some big news last week with Auckland Transport announcing that CEO Shane Ellison has resigned. Auckland Transport’s Board has accepted the resignation of Chief Executive Shane Ellison. Mr Ellison, who joined AT in December 2017, will step down on 24 June 2022.…
37 Comments

Goff’s Climate Package

On Friday Mayor Phil Goff released his proposed budget for the 2022/23 financial year and the headline feature of it is a $1 billion climate action package. An ambitious $1 billion climate action package to reduce carbon emissions and deliver more buses, ferries, cycling and walking and urban tree canopy is the signature policy in Mayor Phil Goff’s proposal for Auckland Council’s Annual Budget 2022/23, released today, 1 December 2021.…
111 Comments