With the clear election result for Wayne Brown, as Mayor for Auckland, this has given an excellent platform for the new mayor to challenge the previous status quo on public transport with Auckland Transport.

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) and NZ Transport 2050 agree that the AT board and the whole AT organisation for that matter should be reorganised to better reflect the needs of Aucklanders. It has become very clear that in the public’s eye AT is severely out of touch with the average Aucklander. Not just on its governance model which it has seen no true independent board representation for the last three years, but with the core assumptions it has on how to deliver transport services for all Aucklanders.

The main areas of concern for our organisations have are:

1. A disingenuous consultation process with anyone that questions their wisdom.

2. A modelling approach that ignores best practice from any other city across Australasia in terms of design and vision.

3. Being Anti-Heavy Rail: A decision was made before the formation of the super city that Auckland suburban rail system would be modernised with dual track, electrification, and a new central rail station at Britomart. Later that this station be expanded to a loop to better connect all of the central city into this $8 billion plus infrastructural investment. AT seems to have gone out of its way to ignore this commitment and instead specifically focuses on building a parallel rail system using Light Rail Tram technology.

4. AT’s fixation on a single Light Rail connection to Mangere and the airport and expansion of that in every area of Auckland without any clear business case or actual public buy in.

5. A fixation on the CBD being the target destination for the majority PT journeys despite the significant reduction on journeys to the CBD even before the pandemic.

6. It’s anti-car or other forms of road transport approach which has seen Queen Street now not even have bus bays or access for people with mobility issues when retailers are desperate for business and PT services are still three years away from being able to use the CRL.

7. A fixation on all things cycle based with no review on the usage and the effectiveness of the design of cycleways or the safety of those using them.

AT has such a high level of arrogance in its vision for Auckland, how it treats any opinion outside its own, its flawed consultation process, and its influence from specific central government vanity projects this organisation does nothing to define a vision that Aucklanders could get excited about let alone imagine moving around their city using an efficient, modern and fast transport system. If this is not the objective of AT we need it replaced with a group that delivers to that mandate. This does not at all mean that somehow this vision is not in the interest of both Aucklanders and the environment with an efficient train system which delivers its passengers in a timely manner across the region.

PTUA National Coordinator Jon Reeves says “The election of Wayne Brown has sent a clear signal that Aucklanders do not want the governments light rail tram pet project.” The PTUA and NZ Transport 2050 want to see the $14 billion budget the government has been willing to spend on light rail trams put back into the pot for public transport improvements Aucklanders actually want, like the spur line to Auckland Airport from Puhinui, and extension of the Onehunga line to Mangere and the airport, extension of commuter train services to Huapai in Nor West Auckland, and the Eastern Busway built in a way that does not wipe out dozens of homes (as AT wants).

Reeves said “The PTUA is ready and willing to work constructively with the new Mayor to help ensure AT becomes an organisation that puts public transport users first. The PTUA expects the massive rail closures which AT announced last week will not go ahead. “AT’s senior management and Kiwirail are probably going to learn shortly that they will need a workable, “Plan B” that does not affect rail passengers,” added Reeves.

Our organisations offer congratulations to both Wayne Brown, and Councillor Mike Lee, who has been voted in after losing by 320 votes in 2019. “Mike Lee is the number one pro-public transport councillor Auckland has had in decades” Jon Reeves said.

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