Phil Goff
Auckland, March 24, 2017
I welcome the agreement reached government and Council agreement on the need for light rail from the airport to city.
The New Zealand Transport Agency and Auckland Transport have agreed to a transition from bus to light rail between the airport and city based on the recent Advanced Bus Solution study.
Important Option
With nearly 18 million passenger arrivals a year at Auckland Airport, a mass transit alternative to growing gridlock is critical. And the growth in employment in the airport precinct, adding further pressure on the roads, also makes a public transport option important.
This report recognises the problem of ever-increasing congestion on the route between the airport and the city, the two fastest growing employment areas in Auckland.
We need immediately to protect routes for the bus rapid transit/light rail option including from the airport to Manukau and Botany. Future proofing our city is vital.
Bigger Issues
It is great that there is now agreement on the need for light rail between the airport and the city. Work should begin on identifying triggers for making the transition. There are however big issues still to resolve.
Bus lanes are consistent with later conversion to a light rail service. However if light rail is needed within just a few years, there is a question as to why we shouldn’t just move immediately to that solution. Secondly, bringing forward a mass transit route to the airport adds urgency to the need to find new revenue streams to fund it.
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