On Monday 28 June, the Board of Auckland Transport approved their ten year plan known as the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). The plan comes with a hefty price tag of $37 Billion which on the face of it seems positive - Auckland has under invested in transport for far too long. However, there isn't much to celebrate.
It does not meet the needs of our current growth projections, so congestion will continue to get worse. Blocked roads already cost the city millions of dollars a day in lost productivity - we need action to provide realistic alternatives to unlock our city. Reliable, affordable and accessible public transport would take pressure off our roads and leave capacity for those who need their vehicles.
It does not move us towards the council's climate change target of reducing emissions by 64% by 2030. In fact it only claims to reduce emissions by a mere 1% and that relies on the government's controversial freebate scheme for electric vehicles. Analysis by people far smarter than me suggests that the plan will actually increase emissions in the short term. Auckland Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has done little since (in fact public transport fares have gone up twice since).
It does not deliver the infrastructure we need - key projects like the Eastern Busway are delayed. It’s taken far too long to get this project to this point and now it’s going to be another two years late bringing the final date to around 2026 (I won’t hold my breath). This is despite promises from the Mayor last year that delays like this wouldn’t happen.
Our elected representatives had their vote last Thursday, and to their credit, both Howick Ward Councillors Sharon Stewart and Paul Young voted against it. But the plan was still endorsed by the rest of council and Auckland Transport has signed it off.
According to AT, they were hamstrung by the funds provided by Auckland Council in their 10 year plan. It’s worth noting that the RLTP is funded through the Regional Fuel Tax, the extra that Aucklanders have to pay at the fuel pump in exchange for an accelerated transport plan. I’ve always believed that this was a clumsy funding model and it’s not delivering.
What’s even more unbelievable is that the council is still out of touch with our transport needs. This should not happen - this process has taken months and involved countless staff from across Auckland Council and it’s various organisations. We all know that the council has funding challenges but to arrive at this point to discover that key projects and outcomes cannot be met is appalling. There aren't side projects that got lost in the detail, they’re core to the city's transport plan.
Auckland Council and Auckland Transport have agreed to develop a Transport Emissions Reductions Plan, but we've all heard the promises before. We’re already a year and a half through the decade and Auckland Transport is never on time. Even if they do agree to a plan this year, I have little faith they’ll be able to deliver it by 2030.