Latest News
Waterfront Tram Campaign
Auckland City officials will consider a push by transport campaigners trams to be included in the proposed $2 billion-plus Tank Farm waterfront development.
The Museum of Transport and Technology (Motat) says 4km of high-quality tracks and low-profile powerlines could be laid between Britomart and the Wynyard Quarter for about $16 million.
Campaign for Better Transport spokesman Cameron Pitches told the city's transport committee yesterday that electric "street cars" could be obtained for between about $500,000 and $2 million each, depending on whether they were heritage trams supplied by Motat or sleeker and more modern conveyances.
He said the tracks would be capable of carrying a mix of heritage and modern trams, which would be quieter than buses, emissions-free and "pedestrian friendly".
"It would be a quiet environment, pollution-free and that's something we haven't been able to achieve on our Queen St."...[more]
California High Speed Rail
Californians vote for high speed rail funding.
To serve the same number of travelers as the high-speed train system, California would have to build nearly 3,000 lane-miles of freeway plus five airport runways and 90 departure gates by 2020. With a price tag of at least twice what it would cost to implement the high-speed train system and having much higher environmental impacts. What’s more, the proposed high-speed train system will provide lower passenger costs than for travel by automobile or air for the same city-to-city markets. California's planned 220 mph high-speed train system will cost less than half as much as building more freeway lanes and airport runways and will increase mobility while cutting air pollution and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
The most current estimated cost to build the 800-mile system is about $45 billion. Once built, the system will not require operating subsidies and will generate over $1 billion in annual profits.
ARTA: Additional train capacity on the way
ARTA media release
In response to increases in rail patronage and to further improve rail services, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) has now scheduled additional train services and increased the capacity of others with additional train carriages.
ARTA’s General Manager, Customer Services, Mark Lambert says, "Patronage growth on rail continues to surge: In response to this growth and for the comfort of our customers, we have now scheduled additional train services and added two new trains to the fleet. Over coming weeks, we also have additional carriages becoming available, and a further six additional trains will be added to the network in the next twenty months. A new timetable detailing the additional services will come into effect on 20 October".
[More]
Campaign for Fair Ferry Fares
The cost of travelling on Fullers ferries from Waiheke to Auckland has increased 52% in the past six years - a situation that is pushing low and middle income islanders off the island.
Campaign for Fair Ferry Fares spokesperson Cathy Urquhart said
" The wealthy commuters of Half Moon Bay, which has a social deprivation index of 2 (1 being the wealthiest), pay $226 for a monthly pass for a similar 35 minute journey to Auckland, in contrast to the commuters of Waiheke Island who now pay $344. Waiheke Island has a social deprivation index of 7 (10 being the lowest). Why should the poorest in our community be burdened with these unaffordable fares?"
[More]
Electric Rail Project All Go
Auckland's rail electrification project - and the petrol tax to pay for it - are a week or two away from Government approval, after Finance Minister Michael Cullen described them as "a lock-down certainty".
Dr Cullen told the Herald yesterday, after announcing an extra $121 million of Government spending on the re-nationalised rail network, that he expected an order-in-council to be issued within a fortnight to allow Auckland Regional Council to raise a special fuel tax for electrification and other public transport. It is understood an announcement may be made as early as next week... [more]
Audio: Talking PT on BFM
Audio from BFM's Sunday Breakfast, in which Cameron Pitches talks about transport funding and public transport in Auckland...[more]
Free Off-Peak Travel For Seniors
Hundreds of thousands of senior citizens will be able to use buses, trains and ferries without paying under a Government-funded scheme starting next week.
Holders of SuperGold cards - who include war veterans and their spouses - will be eligible for free travel after 9am each week-day and during weekends and public holidays from Wednesday in Auckland and many other regions. These include the Waikato, Wellington and coastal parts of the Bay of Plenty such as Tauranga and Whakatane...[more]
Election '08: Public Transport Meeting
With Auckland's public transport straining to cope with patronage, come and find out what this year's general election candidates have to say.
Speakers include:
- Judith Tizard - Labour
- Maurice Williamson - National
- Keith Locke - Green Party
- Rodney Hide - ACT
- Aaron Galey-Young - United Future
Auckland Regional Councillor Christine Rose will also highlight the challenges facing the Auckland public transport network.
Candidates will be allocated speaking slots of eight minutes each, to allow time for questions and answers from the floor.
- When: Wednesday 24th September, 7:30pm start
- Where: Methodist Church, 360 Queen Street, opp. Auckland Town Hall
Note that space is limited, be early to guarantee a seat.
Tell your friends and work mates! Download a flyer here.
Newmarket Station Newsletter
Work on the Newmarket train station, a significant infrastructural project in the region and thesecond largest station in the region after Britomart, is due to start this month.
Hawkins Construction Limited has been awarded the $48 million contract to build Newmarket train station. The contract will include $25 million for the station building and $23 million for track realignment work and aims to reconnect the station with the heart of Newmarket's CBD.
Read the full newsletter here.
Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise
A report by several teams of transport, economic and legal experts led by Auckland consultancy McCormick Rankin Cagney predicts a decline in private car use until 2011 in response to fuel prices, which it expects to rise to a plateau around $2.80 a litre of petrol and $2.50c for diesel.
[More]
AA Trying to Sabotage Electric Rail
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee is accusing the Automobile Association of trying to sabotage the $1 billion rail electrification drive.
A furious Mr Lee says that is the intent of a letter the AA has written to him - and copied to Transport Minister Annette King - challenging council preparations for a regional fuel tax... [more]
Service Puts Helensville Back on Track
Helensville is back on Auckland's passenger rail map, after 28 years in the wilderness.
Members of the South Kaipara community lined their heritage railway station before dawn yesterday to cheer the arrival of the first train sent there since 1980 to carry commuters back to Auckland... [more]
Onehunga Foreshore Petition
Oil Depletion / Climate Change Conference
Want to know what is driving up oil prices and the cost of living?
Oil depletion is now being increasingly recognised as a significant and real risk to the way we live. We think it is time to move on to examine the impacts and responses that might mitigate the worst side effects.
Come and find out about oil depletion and climate change at this all day conference, featuring some of the foremost experts available:
- When: Saturday, 26th July 2008, 8:30am
- Where: Oakridge House, Unitec, Mt Albert, Auckland
- Cost: $110, concessions available for unwaged, retired and students
Hosted by Engineers for Social Responsibility and the Sustainable Energy Forum. Registration form and agenda available here.
Full details of the speaking line-up here.
Auckland Leaves The Car At Home
New traffic-flow figures suggest our love of driving is waning, possibly because of rising fuel prices. Figures for last month, given to the Weekend Herald by Transit NZ, show traffic on the city's motorways in peak hours is down an estimated 3 per cent since May last year... [more]
Last year, the Government raised more than $2.3 billion from taxes on petrol and diesel sales, and about $120 million in royalties on local oil and gas production... [more]
Call to Suspend Motorway Projects
Media Release from the Campaign for Better Transport
Alarmed at the lack of any contingency plan from central Government in the face of soaring petrol prices, the Campaign for Better Transport has come up with its own.
Should oil prices reach $US150 a barrel, the Auckland based transport lobby group is recommending that all uncommitted motorway projects be placed on hold, and funds diverted to increasing the capacity of transport modes that aren't reliant on cheap oil.
The group says that a number of motorway widening projects are being built on the assumptions of future demand growth, and that petrol prices will not increase further.
"These assumptions are wrong. Petrol prices are already reaching levels where people are driving less and switching to alternative forms of transport. We don’t need extra motorway capacity - we need to fund alternatives like electric rail, and networks that support bicycles, scooters and low power vehicles, as well as pedestrians." said Campaign for Better Transport spokesperson Cameron Pitches.
[More]
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