Dialogue: Down the road there's train, bus and ferry

By BOB HARVEY

A few months ago, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce produced little cards getting people to state how long they'd been held up in traffic jams that day. So far, I have received more than 3500 of these angry little cards, and they're still coming.

Moving Auckland's people and goods efficiently is one of the keys to the continued growth of the region. Frankly, I'm as brassed off as anyone that it has taken this long to solve the problem.

Auckland will continue to grow no matter what, and it will either grow and strangle itself or it will grow and accelerate. With apologies to Malcolm X, if you can't drive, crawl, but for God's sake keep moving.

If Auckland were a car, downtown Auckland's Son of Britomart would give the whole system a rebore and new sparkplugs. But there are now so many cars that even the ferries are faster.

We have a transport delivery system focused on providing for cars and commercial vehicles. It has not kept up with demand and is not suited to the delivery of large-scale passenger transport investments. It has, however, provided a forum for negotiating local environmental and residential concerns.

But we have no choice except to drive. I couldn't even take a motorboat to work if I wanted to, and we're surrounded by two of the greatest harbours in the world, with some of the longest coastline in the world. The guy on the Steinlager ad canoeing to work has a smile on his face. Lucky him. But could he find a park?

We can say at least that all the mayors and chairmen in the region are working harder together than they ever have. Slowly, the region is coming up with real alternatives.

The key now is in the set-up to deliver the whole thing. It has to sustain Auckland's quality as a place to live, work and play. This requires reform of how regional transport is run and how it's paid for. This is required at three levels:

* Delivery of regional road transport. We're moving everything from A to B to A again on relatively few of the region's big roads, and within Auckland's limits there are only a small number of them remaining to be built. These are mainly motorways and highways controlled by a single agency, Transit New Zealand.

Movement of people and goods across the region has overtaxed our roads.

Councils control some of the roads that fulfil a mainly regional function, and which have relatively few non-transport demands from residents for such things as local amenities.

These regional roads could be transferred - without legislative change - to Transit for management and development under contract.

* Delivery of regional passenger transport. The region is moving to make major investments in rail, bus and ferry transport. If the Brisbane busway is anything to go by, a guarantee that you'll get there when the timetable promises will get people out of their cars in no time. The North Shore busway is a version of this and I support it.

But all the big changes needed require long-term commitments of money, and so far we are relying on the cooperation and goodwill of a large number of players.

And I'm impressed that the goodwill has largely stayed. However, long-term this is unsustainable and risky.

What we need is a one-stop shop for funding and running the show. The new company set up jointly by six councils of the region to develop rail assets could evolve to hold bus and ferry assets as well. These could include the ferry wharves and terminals and the planned North Shore busway.

* Delivery of local transport. Most ordinary roads are owned and managed by councils.

They have a wide range of functions in moving traffic, providing pedestrian access, connecting neighbourhoods and so on. Residents take a close interest in the development of their local roads - how is vehicle movement provided for, how safely can children get to school, how will road-widening affect house prices?

These local concerns can be dealt with only at a local level. The management and development of these roads needs to stay with councils, since their role is to negotiate local interests.

So governance of road investment doesn't need major reform. We have a single agency - Transit NZ - in place to develop and manage those roads with a truly regional function.

Whether investment in these takes place is a funding issue not a governance issue. Drawing all local roads under the umbrella of a regional agency wouldn't work because it could never respond as local government can and does to local concerns.

This leaves the delivery of regional passenger transport. The question in front of the region is: can we evolve the new rail company to adequately manage and develop bus and ferry assets? The answer is tied to questions of democracy and funding.

Whatever group does it, it has to deliver, and it has to be accountable to the communities it serves, either through direct election or by control through council ownership, and it has to have the grunt to keep things moving.

If it is funded in part by local rates then local councils should remain joint-owners.

To the extent that rates are not applied to developing the assets, the case for direct election or a mixed system of council appointment and direct election is increased.

Good transport governance will work only with secure and substantial funding. To make large-scale, long-term investments in road and passenger transport there needs to be greater certainty over the sources and amounts of money.

Costs travellers pay should also accurately and directly reflect the cost of dealing with pollution, safety and community impacts as well as providing for the maintenance and development of infrastructure.

Given that the congested areas of Auckland are urbanised, transport investments are going to be expensive.

Right now the region needs greater certainty of Government funding commitment to key strategic projects. Anything wrong with that?

In short, we can deliver regional roads and local roads. Regional passenger transport is new and needs work. But nothing will be delivered without adequate, secure sources of funding.

* Bob Harvey is Mayor of Waitakere City and was the previous chairman of the Auckland Mayoral Forum.