Winston Churchill said: "We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us". If you substitute "transport infrastructure" for buildings he could have said, "We shape our transport infrastructure, and afterwards our transport infrastructure shapes us".
Quite simply, the transport problems we are now trying to resolve in Auckland are
the result of how our transport infrastructure has been shaped in the past. It is inconceivable that a great (or even functional) city of scale can be developed without thoughtful and significant investment in hard transport infrastructure.
Decades of underinvestment and tepid decision-making have resulted in a transport system in Auckland characterised by peak time congestion; patched-up, almost vintage era trains and inefficient (and unreliable) bus networks. The consequence of this is a substantial (and inexcusable) waste of time and money as people and goods struggle to circulate efficiently and effectively.
The good news is all that is changing. The creation of Auckland as one city has seen legacy council budgets fused and a strategic and integrated view of transport investment priorities. The purpose is now clear and directional - the development for Auckland of an integrated multi-modal transport system, with public transport as the "game-changer". Few cities in the world will see such fundamental change to transport over such a short time as Auckland will over the next decade.
Decisions have been made, significant funding is in place, project priorities have been agreed, but most importantly a number of significant transport infrastructure projects are being implemented or are about to be implemented. Change is coming! The first significant changes are starting to be introduced and their full effects will felt within the next three years.
