KEY POINTS:
The DART. God bless its existence and what a lesson for what could be achieved in Auckland. For those who don't know what I am on about, the Dart is a rail system which traverses various parts of Dublin and runs along the coast. It is not perfect but it is better than the nothing we have in Auckland. Edinburgh, that lovely Scottish city is also diverting much of the traffic away from its centre as it puts in a new tram/light rail system. If Dublin and Edinburgh can find a way to make it work then Auckland should be following their lead.
It is slightly curious though that those trains do not have stations at their cities' major sports stadiums like Croke Park, Lansdowne Rd and Murrayfield. Getting out of Murrayfield is a mission. No problem getting there in a cab but when you broached the idea of an aftermatch pickup with the driver, a startled look came across his face. Not on yer nellie son, not until well after the game. I figure it will be much the same at Croke Park this weekend though by the time we have been to interviews with coaches, players and written some observations for the Herald website, we will have ditched another couple of hours and some transport will be circling again.
Eden Park may not be in the best location for public transport to a big test either but the New Zealand Rugby Union, unlike any others in the world, does put on a media bus which leaves from SkyCity and drops us at the ground and then returns us late at night. They needn't do it but they do and deserve big ups for that arrangement.
The only other time I struck such a deal was in 1992 when the All Blacks toured South Africa for the first time since isolation and the hosts supplied us with a bus for all our travel needs to various grounds. It made it easier that we were all staying at the same hotels but to have a bus transport us to such gritty arenas as Elllis Park, Loftus and so on was a welcome arrangement.
Wynne Gray
