Revealed: 2021 draft Cabinet paper shows Labour’s last minute light rail switch
Over the last year, I’ve been writing a book on the story of light rail in Auckland between 2014-2024. A lot happened – much of it public, and quite a lot not – and the history of the project goes to the heart of our struggle to build things in New Zealand.…
86 Comments Gondola Fever Strikes Queenstown!
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Like the Otago Gold Rush of the 19th Century, its 21st Century counterpart, the gondola rush, has come to town in Queenstown.…
Why diverting buses to Maungawhau is a bad idea
Over the last three years the Mayor has come up with a few transport ideas that might sound good at first but just don’t make practical sense – his Harbour Crossing proposal is a classic example – and he’s just added another to his list: diverting buses from nearby arterial routes directly to Maungawhau station.…
Auditor General looks at the reliability of public transport in Auckland
Reliability of public transport is one of the most important factors in how much trust people have in the system. When PT works as expected, with services, including transfers, turning up on time and whisking you to your destination quickly free from congestion, it is amazing and changes how you feel about the city and your day.…
Richer or poorer?
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel, and a previous director of Waka Kotahi/NZTA.
Recently there has been some good attention on New Zealand’s relatively low productivity. Just last week the Mayor led on this issue: Brown stressed that Auckland’s economic future relies on shifting from low productivity and long hours to high-value, scalable innovation.…
The state of the rails across Aotearoa
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. In a recent blog post, I outlined the implications of the 2024-2027 Rail Network Investment Plan for Aotearoa/ New Zealand’s rail network.…
Removing Level Crossings at Three Train Stations
A few months ago the government announced it would contribute $200 million towards level crossing removal in Takanini and at a few stations so that the Southern and Eastern lines north of Papakura would be fully grade separated. This enables us to make better use of the City Rail Link in the future.…
Public Transport Ridership for the start of 2025
It’s been a few months since we last covered public transport usage and we’ve passed through March Madness so it’s time to have a look at how our PT system is performing again.
First up, at a monthly level we can see that there’s been a mixed start to the year which suggests that the post-COVID recovery appears to have stalled.…
Northwest Busway Makes Progress
In the history of Auckland’s many transport blunders, not building a busway along the Northwestern Motorway at the same time the motorway was being widened and interchanges rebuilt, when the need was clear and the success of investments like the Northern Busway were already understood, is up there with some of the worst we’ve had.…
Fares fair in the Sunshine State?
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Context
Queensland launched 50 cent flat fares across all urban bus networks in the state in August 2024 (including free transfers), initially as a cost of living relief measure implemented in the lead-up to the October 26 2024 state election.…
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