Swain left in carless daze

Transport Minister Paul Swain ran into his own traffic holdup when he fronted up for yesterday's big bang transport package at Eden Park.

Arriving around 8am, and expecting a gruelling morning, Mr Swain had told his driver he would not be needed until 12.30pm.

But by 11am it was all over and Mr Swain was left without a car.

His driver, it turned out, had taken colleague Judith Tizard to Whenuapai so she could fly down to Gore with Prime Minister Helen Clark for another function.

The mix-up left Mr Swain's secretary frantically trying to organise another car.

Mr Swain was one of many politicians who arrived by car for the large gathering of councillors and central government figures.

The packed Eden Park carpark and deserted nearby Kingsland rail station graphically illustrated Auckland's transport problems - an inadequate public transport system forcing people to use cars and in turn clogging up the roads.