Public Transport On Its Own Network Is The Answer To Congestion
Enabling more people to bypass motorway congestion by taking public transport running on its own corridors is the answer
to Auckland being brought to a standstill by motorway accidents, says ARC Transport Committee chairman Les Paterson.
“Today’s accidents that paralysed the Southern Motorway and Great South Road and had repercussions as far as the North
Shore, are a result of Aucklanders’ dependence on the motorway network as their only option to get to work,” said
Councillor Paterson.
“The Auckland region has not put any money into public transport infrastructure for decades and this is the result.
“The Auckland region’s councils have the solution and we’re working hard to build a rapid, frequent, integrated public
transport network throughout the region with a backbone runs off the roads on its own dedicated network,” said
Councillor Paterson.
“Then, just as in other internationally competitive cities of the world, Aucklanders will have a choice of how to get to
work in the morning and home in the evening – they won’t have to use the motorways.
“Completing the motorway network alone won’t solve these problems – gridlock will just get worse when there are
accidents.”
This morning, the train service was chocker with people cramming into the services to get to work on time. “The ARC’s
vision is to improve public transport infrastructure and services hugely so that people can easily access the stations
and thousands more can travel to work or school on the rapid transit services,” said Councillor Paterson. “We will be
integrating all services across the region so that public transport works for people.”
Information about public transport is available 24 hours a day on our website, www.rideline.co.nz, and also people can
phone Rideline 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 6.30pm on Sundays.
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