''I am suggesting putting in place a bold plan.''
The inspiration for his city-wide integrated transport system was Australia's Gold Coast which began planning its network in the late 1980s, with construction taking place over the past 10 years.
Mr Wassung has already pitched his ideas to the city's key transport officials and will be attempting to convince Tauranga city councillors about the merits of his plan next month.
Called the Tauranga Connect Multimodal Transport network, he proposes 12 months of public workshops, three years of planning and 10 years of construction ending in 2030.
He was motivated by public feedback during last year's election campaign when he unsuccessfully stood for a seat on the council. It taught him that congestion was the biggest problem facing Tauranga.
He has poured months of unpaid work into the project, including talking to the city's cycle groups.
''I am getting costs for overhead lines, trams, concrete, lines and stops per kilometre from a quantity surveyor.''
Mr Wassung says Tauranga would be transformed by the futuristic infrastructure, with a light rail line down Cameron Rd proposed as stage one, with the other lines in his new loop public transport system sticking with buses until more light rail lines could be considered.
His plan meant the council would need to start designating park and ride areas at the end of the lines.
Another line, a ''city direct'' monorail system with its own raised harbour crossing, would link into a new cruise ship terminal and whisk passengers into the city centre. It would also have connections to the airport and city heritage sites such as The Elms.
G-Link trams could take 300 people per tram, with 10 trams on a line.
''This would result in 3000 people being able to be moved at once ... schools in Cameron Rd could have all the students catch the trams.''
Mr Wassung said the network was an investment in the future, like sewerage and water infrastructure, requiring long-term borrowing so all the load did not fall on one generation of ratepayers.
Another major focus of his plan was improving off-road cycling networks and filling in the gaps.
He said cyclists had made it clear that they did not want to share the road with cars because it was too dangerous. A prime example was to replace the cycle lane that went behind angle parked cars on Marine Parade and build a new off-road path.
He also wants to improve the harbourside park-to-park cycle and walkway connections from Matua to Bureta and to complete an 8km loop around Waimapu Estuary.
Mr Wassung proposes forming a 12-member working group to help drive the project forward involving representatives from major community organisations.
Tauranga's proposed integrated transport plan
- Four months of work
- 30 detailed drawings
- Smart sustainable solutions to congestion