KEY POINTS:
The announcement that Transit will merge with Land Transport New Zealand is a sign of the changing times in the transport world.
Transit has been successful at getting on with building roads all across the country, while rail, bus, ferry, walking and cycling projects have been few and
far between. Over the past 50 years transport planners have preferred roading solutions, predicting large increases in traffic volumes then providing more roading as the solution.
Auckland now has a highly car-dependent transport system. This means congested roads, increased air pollution and climate-change emissions, limited choice of travel options, health issues exacerbated by inactive transport and communities degraded with busy through roads.
The problem for Transit is that transport solutions of the future can no longer be biased toward the private motor vehicle. Increasing roading capacity just increases the amount of traffic on the roads. We must move towards the more sustainable transport modes of public transport, walking and cycling.
In 2002, the Government's transport strategy said, "By 2010, New Zealand will have an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system."
But Transit has continued with "business as usual" and made only minor sustainable concessions on new roading projects. This includes calling the motorway extension to Puhoi the "eco-highway", putting cute designs into concrete abutments on new motorways and planting native bush alongside motorway off-ramps. Transit has refused to future-proof for rail the second Manukau harbour crossing or to adequately provide for cyclists on the new Greenhithe bridge.
In other areas Transit has been unclear in its approach to achieving the objectives of the transport strategy. Its 2007/08 draft Land Transport Programme describes many motorway-widening projects and claims public health benefits of "improved air pollution impacts via reduced congestion and therefore emissions".
We're now three years away from the objectives of the strategy yet the country's transport system is expensive, fragmented, unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians, highly car-reliant and unsustainable. The number of cars in Auckland continues to increase as more roading is provided.
The Government has decided that things must change and Transit is a casualty of that change. Minister of Transport Annette King says, "Despite recent improvements, transport agencies need to work more collaboratively and with a common purpose." That common purpose is the transport strategy which is to be more clearly defined in the Government Policy Statement to clarify the funding policy and investment priorities.
Ideally our future transport system will allow mobility and contribute to stronger communities while reducing emissions and economic costs.
We can start on this with a multi-modal transport system, which allows us to mix and match the travel options. This might include more "park and ride" stations, high-speed public transport links between town centres, high-occupancy vehicle lanes on arterial roads, bike racks on buses and "traffic-calmed" neighbourhoods where it is safe to walk or cycle to public transport. It's great news that the rail link to Onehunga is to be reopened and that the train network is to be electrified, but both of these projects took far too long to be agreed to.
We cannot go through such tortuous processes and delays to get action on the future key rail projects. Initiatives that need to be considered include a link to the airport, the CBD loop from Britomart to Mt Eden, an eastern loop from Panmure to Manukau via Pakuranga, Botany Downs and Flat Bush.
With the new merged structure of Transit with Land Transport NZ and greater clarity on what the Government expects on implementing its transport strategy, roading and non-roading transport projects can be assessed on a more level playing field.
Thankfully, it is likely to mean that the more sustainable transport projects involving getting more Aucklanders on public transport, cycling and walking will stand a better chance of getting the green light. Transit has many good personnel, but its culture has been one that has focused on solving transport problems the only way it really knows - with more roading.
* Bevan Woodward is a member of the Regional Land Transport committee, chairman of Cycle Action and spokesman for Forum for Auckland Sustainable Transport.
