The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five-year trial, through to April 2026. However, that was subject to Waikato Regional Council and Waka Kotahi continuing their funding, and this is currently being decided as part of the council’s Long Term Plan process – and under a new government that repeatedly opposed and mocked the service while in opposition. The Regional Council’s Future Proof Public Transport Subcommittee l ..read more

A few weeks ago, Auckland Council released the results of consultation on the Long Term Plan (LTP) that occurred in March. With almost 28,000 submissions, it received the most feedback of any Auckland LTP. The consultation covered a wide range of topics soliciting feedback on different areas of council funded services and investment, as well as questions around the proposed Future Fund, the North Harbour Stadium and the Port of Auckland. Consultation was framed around several options: a central proposal (involving a rates rise, with choices and trade-offs), “pay less do less”, and “pay more do ..read more

Here we are in May already! And here are a few of the stories that caught our eye this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted that it’s been a decade since Auckland’s rail system was electrified. On Wednesday, Matt looked at AT’s rollout of new ways to pay for your public transport journeys. Safe speeds for kids around the motu In Dunedin, Stuff reports that police are “making no apologies over the use of speed camera vans” to snap drivers speeding in school zones, with one location seeing seven speeders per minute. [That] was too many speeding drivers for the liking ..read more

Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already on buses today. Image from reader Alan While the change itself might not be that interesting, the reason behind it is. These new readers are to enable payment by credit card and phone wallets. Over the next few years, we’re investing in technology to make it easier for you to use and pay for public transport ..read more

Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier iterations of what became the City Rail Link. The cost of needing to electrify the network to run trains though the tunnel, on top of the cost of the tunnel itself was a key contributor for the government of the day not proceeding with the tunnel. It was a similar story in subsequent CRL like proposals too, 1940’s, 50’s ..read more

One of the government’s transport policy and agreements with it’s coalition partners made it clear that they were looking at options like tolling and road pricing. This was reinforced in it’s draft Government Policy Statement released at the start of March which made a couple of references to it. Road pricing, such as tolling and time of use charging, will play a key role in the delivery of the Roads of National Significance programme, as part of a wider package of transport revenue and investment tools. Tolling provides an opportunity for an additional source of revenue and will support ..read more

In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen fantastic growth on this frequent bus route which connects Westgate with the city centre, carrying more than 275,000 passengers so far. “In recent months we’ve also seen more people using buses in all parts of West Auckland than before Covid-19. In the Westgate/Massey area patronage is about 25% higher and in T ..read more

It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Sims on some lessons from Texas. AT’s Refreshed Branding Auckland Transport recently updated their brand guidelines, and while I assume this is largely for internal consumption, it’s interesting to see that it’s been published on their website. One of the documents includes what the new branding would look like implemented across various use cases. While most of ..read more

This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. Casey Chapman Ross Photography Austin feels like a city on the move. The skyline is filled with construction cranes topping out new highrise developments, the bars and restaurants are overflowing, and the city is full of young people, many of whom are working in Austin’s large high-tech sector or studying at its world-class university. I had the privilege of attending and speaking a month ago at ‘YIMBYtown’, the ..read more

Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy. The Long Tunnel option aligns strong ..read more