America’s Cup Fixes Traffic, Candidates Support Carpooling

AUCKLAND ~ 27 September 2013: The Get Auckland Moving campaign has asked all candidates in Auckland’s local body elections if they support finding ways to make it easier and more rewarding for people to carpool as a low-cost way of reducing Auckland’s traffic.

The candidate statements can be found here: http://www.tripconvergence.co.nz/localelectioncandidateresponses.pdf, or from the campaign’s FaceBook page (search on Get Auckland Moving). The list will be updated as candidates continue to respond, until voting closes in early October.

So far 125 candidates have responded.

“The results are running about 98% in favour”, says Paul Minett who is coordinating the Get Auckland Moving campaign.

One candidate (Mark Bellingham, Independent, Waitakere Ranges Local Board) observed that “it seems only America’s Cup races control NW Motorway traffic jams”, to which candidate Christine Rose (Independent , Waitakere Ward) added: “this shows that traffic problems are social problems as much as they are technical”. The Get Auckland Moving campaign argues that if all commuters would catch a ride one day a week, the worst of Auckland’s traffic congestion would be overcome.

The Get Auckland Moving campaign promotes the idea of commuters catching rides in carpools or on public transport. Public transport gets lots of attention. Carpools do not. But the campaign is quick to point out that this is not your grandfather’s carpool they are talking about. They want innovative solutions that are delivering results overseas to be adapted for Auckland. See the FaceBook page for examples.

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