National is warming to the idea of zooming down Dominion Rd in Auckland on modern trams within 10 years.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges today said National is open to trams running on light rail in Auckland, less than 12 months after Finance Minister Steven Joyce accused Labour of panicking and "pork barrel" politics for promoting light rail during last year's Mt Roskill byelection.
At the general election, Labour and the Greens have promised to spend up to $5 billion building light rail from the Auckland CBD to the airport and West Auckland.
Bridges said National was not making any election promises for light rail in Auckland, but had an open mind about advanced buses or light rail from the CBD and down Dominion Rd to Mt Roskill over the next decade.
At the moment, he said, the focus was on route protection for mass transit to Mt Roskill, whether it was buses or trams.