public transport

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AT is to be gutted

Written By: - Date published: 6:35 pm, December 4th, 2024 - 3 comments

The Government announced reform of AT, effectively conceding that the behemouth National created in 2010 was the wrong structure.

Electric Shock

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, December 2nd, 2024 - 29 comments

New Zealand is one of the slowest countries in the developed world to transition from combustion to electric vehicles. The shocks we are seeing in Europe to car makers and car buyers herald more trouble ahead.

National’s eternal road obsession

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, September 3rd, 2024 - 39 comments

The year is 2035 and after the McAnaulty-Sepuloni Government is removed from power new National Prime Minister Simeon Brown makes his first new announcement. Guess what it is?

Winston Peters – lazy hypocrite on ferries

Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, July 11th, 2024 - 15 comments

My ire was raised this morning when I read a pile of PR drivel from acting PM Winston Peters about the Interislander. If he wanted to be useful looking at “critical part of our infrastructure” – then there are number of better things he could usefully do – rather than chasing headlines.

Mountain Tui: The Kiwirail Interislander saga continues

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, July 11th, 2024 - 40 comments

Nicola Willis’s decision to cancel the Kiwirail i-Rex contract without a back up plan is coming back to bite. As costs pile up for the taxpayer, we have already lost half a billion dollars, but that won’t be the final bill. And there are still no ferries.

Ferry sweary

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, June 27th, 2024 - 45 comments

The Government is in a rather precarious position relating to the contract to replace the ageing Cook Straight ferries, which clearly need replacing.

Power cuts or Powerdown?

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, May 10th, 2024 - 60 comments

Powercuts in a wealthy country like New Zealand don’t make us third world. It’s bog standard neoliberalism which has both impeded upkeep of our infrastructure and blocked meaningful climate transition. Third world is when you can’t afford to fix, maintain and futureproof society. Neoliberalism is when you do that by choice.

Simeon Brown works to make transport system less sustainable

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, February 10th, 2024 - 6 comments

This week we have seen National confirm it will cancel the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax and this will cause the cancellation or suspension of many projects designed to address congestion. And it has been confirmed that axing the clean car discount has seen sales of electric vehicles plummet. And that electric vehicles will shortly pay more to use the road than petrol vehicles.

Why does National hate EVs?

Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, January 17th, 2024 - 71 comments

At a time when we need cool heads and leaders who understand the enormity of the problem that is climate change and the consequences of getting our response right we are getting this retrograde culture war from people who should know better.

National is no nation builder

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, August 8th, 2023 - 16 comments

Nation building projects always take multiple terms, and the risk of Labour losing puts at risk some of the largest and most important we’ve seen in generations.

National’s latest policy: MOAR ROADS

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, July 31st, 2023 - 51 comments

National’s latest policy announcement shows that it has an unmistakable fetish for tar seal.

The Case for Restoring Regional Rail

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 am, June 6th, 2023 - 53 comments

How does regional rail fit into the biggest story on the planet?

Stop Defending Regional Rail

Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, June 5th, 2023 - 51 comments

Regional rail is a perpetual makework gig servicing the wrong economy and just needs to stop.

The great policy bonfire

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, March 14th, 2023 - 45 comments

Chris Hipkins continues with his shock and awe campaign and has torched a number of policies that National and Act were using to foment unrest.

Wayne Brown’s letters

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, October 20th, 2022 - 50 comments

Wayne Brown (or is that Matthew Hooton) has over the past few days released a series of letters that are astonishing in their audacity.  His latest on transport proposes business as usual at a time when dramatic change is required.

 

Greens: New public transport model must be backed with investment

Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, August 16th, 2022 - 9 comments

“Along with public ownership and better wages and conditions for people working on public transport, if we can get the Government to focus nearly all transport investments on making it easier for people to walk, bike, or hop on a bus, train, or ferry we can create a world-class transport system that works for everyone. The best way to do that is to get more Green MPs into Parliament,” – Julie Anne Genter.

How Can Labour Win in 2023?

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 7th, 2022 - 213 comments

Right now Labour is preparing the ground for its run at 2023’s election with new policy. New policy must be wildly popular. What could make Labour popular enough to them back leading a third term in government?

The Auckland Mayoralty campaign

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, May 15th, 2022 - 9 comments

The Auckland mayoralty campaign promises to be a fascinating contest between a right winger promising to spend $1.5 million on the campaign and wants to turn sprinklers on the homeless and Efeso Collins who promises to run an inclusive respectful campaign.

What if… Dunedin no longer needed so much petrol?

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, April 22nd, 2022 - 17 comments

It’s 2032, and we’re looking back at a decade of oil, climate and economic crisis, and how one city found a way through.

The approaching fuel crisis: what if we no longer needed so much petrol?

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, April 13th, 2022 - 93 comments

What would our society, communities and lives look like in New Zealand if we weren’t so reliant on fossil fuels?

Luxon’s strange Public Transport take

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, April 13th, 2022 - 66 comments

Yesterday Chris Luxon showed the sensitivity and sophistication of someone who owns seven properties and at one stage had 6.1 million Air New Zealand shares by stating that he believed that at least some public transport services should not be supported and that public transport needs to stand on its own feet.

Change nothing

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, April 6th, 2022 - 15 comments

You get to a point – and Ardern must be close – where the most you can do is hang on.

Free public transport for Auckland is a very good idea

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, February 23rd, 2022 - 66 comments

Efeso Collins has announced his first Mayoral campaign policy and it is a biggie, free public transport for Auckland.

Can this government get re-elected?

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, February 13th, 2022 - 34 comments

Where will the votes come from to get Labour a third term? 

Light Rail: The State Is Back

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, January 31st, 2022 - 30 comments

The light rail route and mode decision this week shows something new. It’s in the nature of the state itself.

Goodbye, Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, December 14th, 2021 - 21 comments

For the hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders who have decided to holiday at a town near you, just be careful: they may never leave.

Covid alters Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, November 3rd, 2021 - 22 comments

With in-person shopping about to re-start in Auckland next week, this is the best moment we will have to reinvent Auckland: one customer at a time.

Auckland Light rail options released

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, October 29th, 2021 - 23 comments

Construction of light rail in Auckland, proposed 50 years ago by former Mayor Dove Myer Robinson, is now a step close with the release of working group recommendations for options of a light rail line running between the city centre and the Airport.

Denis Tegg: Regional Transport Plan Will Increase Emissions And Is Thus Unlawful

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 28th, 2021 - 26 comments

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) has approved a transport plan which assigns just 3% of its 10-year budget to walking and cycling, and only 5% to public transport. This must inevitably increase overall transport emission pollution in the region.  In my opinion the law requires the plan to reduce transport emissions to achieve consistency with central government transport policy.  If emissions will rise under the plan this makes the plan unlawful and places WRC at significant risk of a successful legal challenge.

Public transport, to complement cycling?

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, June 17th, 2021 - 51 comments

Jenny looks at extending public transport to include cyclists

Too much too far?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 23rd, 2021 - 97 comments

As we lead up to Budget 2021, there’s much more shape to the whole direction of this government.

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