Traffic is a bone of contention in Tauranga and around the country. Photo / File
Traffic is a bone of contention in Tauranga and around the country. Photo / File
COMMENT
The trouble with transport is that everyone has an opinion on how it should be managed.
We want to trust our experts know what they're doing when it comes to achieving the right outcomes.
But I don't think I'm wrong when I say there's a growing frustration with theongoing use of taxpayer funds to provide transport solutions that people don't want or are impractical.
Improving transport safety, mitigating climate change, and reducing peak-hour congestion are massive, complex issues. They require listening to the users if we're to see better outcomes.
If we get back to basics, humans will choose the most convenient, practical, and safe transport option.
For example, one of my employees said she'll be a bit late to work to drop her son at Gordon-Spratt Reserve for cricket. I jokingly said to tell him to catch a bus. She sent me a screenshot showing it would take him 97 minutes to get there via two buses from Matua – plus he's carrying his big cricket bag.
Millions of dollars will be spent trying to convince us public transport is the better option, but people will always prefer a 20-minute car ride to get to a neighbouring suburb over a 90-minute bus ride that goes via the city centre.
That same spend has an opportunity cost of doing other things that may actually make the transport network safer, more efficient, and cause less emissions.
I'm looking forward to owning an electric vehicle one day. They're becoming cool, they're quick, and I won't be at the whim of increasing oil prices. Range Rovers, Ford Rangers, and Audi E-tron are a few exciting mass-market electric vehicle options being released over the next few years.
But a key barrier to using an electric vehicle is range anxiety, where people don't want to drive too far from charging facilities. Investing in e-charging infrastructure will do more to de-carbonise our transport system than hoping people will use a bus.
Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / Mead Norton
Another example of an unwanted investment is the investigation into inter-regional passenger rail, which is promoted as an option that will save on carbon emissions and be more convenient for commuters.
If you need to get into central Auckland by 9am, would you board a train that departs Tauranga before 4am and goes via Hamilton?
Te Huia proves trains are incredibly expensive to run considering how few people use them. And unless the Kaimai route is double-laned, passenger trains will likely interrupt freight trains – resulting in more trucks on the road and a zero-sum gain for emissions.
Why sink billions of taxpayers funds into a feeble concept when Air New Zealand has said it could take delivery of its first zero-emissions aircraft as early as 2025? The short Tauranga to Auckland flight would likely be the first route to use their new zero emissions fleet.
Why compete with a faster, commercially sustainable, and cleaner transport option? Especially when Te Huia's user data show weekday commuters from Hamilton to Auckland do not want it, despite the heavy taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies.
Transport planners seem to be all in on investing in transport options the majority of people do not want. Meanwhile, our state highways are dangerously under-maintained, making them deadly and less efficient.
I'm not suggesting we stop providing public transport as it is a social necessity for some residents, and it also makes sense in some situations. But it's not going to be the silver bullet.
I call for local and central government decision-makers to work with transport users in order to achieve real, tangible outcomes as we strive for a safe, efficient and low carbon transport network.
Likewise, I say congratulations to the Government for finishing the Waikato expressway. I've only heard great feedback from people praising its efficiency and safety – many who say they no longer use State Highway 2 to get to Auckland.
Imagine if the safe and efficient Waikato Expressway is extended through to the Port of Tauranga…
Matt Cowley is the chief executive of the Tauranga Business Chamber.
