christchurch
This post first appeared at TraNZport blog and is republished with permission. Recently there was some commentary about a 4 percent public transport fare rise in Auckland and how that contradicts the city’s climate change goals, and it caught my attention. It made a fair point, and I don’t disagree that there is some weird … Continue reading Why are we so bad at public transport?
This post first appeared at TraNZport and is republished with permission. Christchurch joins Auckland and Wellington in having a standard livery for its bus fleet. First, I think it’s about time. Apparently, the city has up to eight different liveries running on the roads at the moment, and most carry that silly “metro” signage box … Continue reading Bus liveries are cool – but where’s the much needed changes?
This post first appeared at TraNZport blog and is republished with permission. It's a few weeks old now but still relevant leading up to elections. The National Party has announced an election promise to build a $1.5 billion 4-lane expressway between Christchurch and Ashburton (also see here and here for more). This would include two … Continue reading What could $1.5 billion buy? – a transport promise from the dark ages
This post first appeared at TraNZport blog and is republished with permission. Right now we are in interesting times. I’ve had a draft post I’ve been tinkering with, exploring in-depth the likely economic response to the corona-virus lockdown and how that might impact on wider transport policy settings, but events simply kept moving too fast … Continue reading Transport projects as economic stimulus post-lockdown
This article was first published at TraNZport and is republished with permission. An interesting concept that may be rolled out later this year is the introduction of express buses between the fast growing Waimakariri district and Christchurch city. (informative articles here and here) Before I get into what that is proposed to look like, a … Continue reading Focus: Express buses in northern Christchurch
This post first appeared at TraNZport and is republished with permission. Transport infrastructure investments can be complementary as part of a holistic transport ecosystem that aims to achieve the best overall outcomes, often addressing multiple economic, social and environmental issues. Instead, different investments are often viewed as an “it’s this or that” situation. For instance, … Continue reading Rail or more roads? Why that isn’t the question
This article first appeared at TraNZport blog and is republished with permission. So what happened? The Government announced billions of dollars in transport infrastructure funding last week, perhaps one of the single biggest in New Zealand’s history! Mostly it was roads, in a throw back to the RoNS programme, but there was some rail and … Continue reading Did Canterbury get Screwed? – What’s Going on with Transport Funding in the Region
This post first appeared at TraNZport and is republished with permission. As 2019 rolls into 2020, one thing is clear; I feel dreadfully old. It used to be that the changing of a decade was a momentous occasion, yet the last one seemed to be only a few years ago. Even more depressing is – … Continue reading Farewell 2010s (aka a transport decade in review – and a new decade in preview)
This post first appeared at TraNZport blog and is republished with permission. Light rail was proposed by the Christchurch City Council – and then mayor Bob Parker – in 2011 as part of the Draft City Plan, the centrepiece recovery plan for the city following the 2011 earthquake. The $406 million project between the central … Continue reading Looking back: Light rail in Christchurch – “Bob’s folly” or missed opportunity?
This post first appeared at TraNZport and is republished with permission. For the first two posts in this series: Ottawa Canberra So far in this series, I have delved into two light rail projects in other cities; Ottawa and Canberra. Now I’d like to look at a city that is expanding rapid transit through another … Continue reading What other cities are doing: Belfast, Northern Ireland
TALKING TRANSPORT 