Auckland welcomes funding for electric trains

3 July 2008

Parliament’s passing of the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill this evening takes the Auckland region a step closer to electric trains and other public transport improvements.

On behalf of the Auckland Regional Council, chairman Michael Lee thanks the supportive Members of Parliament for their vision and courage at a time when world oil prices were rising. They have weighed up many difficult issues and chosen to take a long-term view of transport funding, the threats of peak oil and climate change, and the need to provide affordable transport for all.

“Thank-you to the Labour Party, New Zealand First, the Greens, the Maori Party, United Future, the Progressive Party, and to Phillip Taito Field, for a final tally of 70 votes in support,” Mr Lee says.

“It’s almost two years since the Auckland Regional Council and Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) said there was urgent need to make a decision about future rolling stock.

“Rail passenger numbers have grown from 2.5 million per annum five years ago to almost 7 million this year. Electrifying commuter rail makes sense. Fast, clean quiet electric trains are cheaper to run in the long-term,” Mr Lee says.

Rail patronage in Perth, Australia was at a similar level, about 7 million, when they decided to electrify their system in 1997. Patronage has since reached 30 million trips per year

The law passed today allows regional councils around the country to raise money to fast-track transport capital projects by phasing in regional fuel taxes. Mr Lee said regional councils would welcome the potential for additional transport funding, but the public would want the assurance that every dollar was well-spent.

“The extra funding creates a greater obligation for spending transparency,” he says.

The Public Transport Management Bill, which was still before a parliamentary select committee, would help councils provide more transparency. The Bill needed to be strengthened to increase accountability for the huge amount of public subsidies going to private companies.

ARTA will provide public subsidies of $158.7 million this financial year, with $79.4 million of that coming from the ARC. Bus subsidies in Auckland are worth $106.7 million this financial year.

“The present public transport procurement arrangements – a legacy from the 1980s – are totally unsatisfactory in terms of transparency and accountability,” Mr Lee says.

Auckland’s plans to dramatically improve public transport are well-advanced, but the ARC cannot formally consider a regional fuel tax scheme until the Land Transport Management Amendment takes effect on 1 August.

The ARC, together with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, has proposed buying electric trains, strengthening the region’s bus and ferry network, and introducing smart-card ticketing.

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