Budget the Manukau South Link into this Long Term Plan

As the Budget Committee meets on Thursday to discuss the individual budget lines including the Interim Transport Program I remind the Mayor after his comments at the Manukau Long Term Plan ‘Have Your Say Session:’

If Mayor Len Brown honoured his word and got the Manukau South Link built my family would save $7,800/year in ditching one car.

And we would not be the only household as well in a position to make such savings through a very simple $4.5m piece of (missing) infrastructure.

20 minute frequencies 6am – 10pm seven days a week (30mins outside those times) on a trip from Papakura that would take 14 minutes to Manukau via South Link. This is in comparison to 12 minutes by car with NO traffic on the Southern Motorway (35 minutes with traffic or an accident) and around 34 minutes by bus via the Great South Road. The fare stage is a two stage from Papakura so $3 each way with HOP.

So come on Len honour your word and connect a rapidly growing area (probably the fastest) in the South to their City Centre and help us save $7,800/year in ditching one car. Hmmm $7,800 think where that money could go else where but a car stuck in traffic for most of its life.

Note: Using the train from Papakura to Manukau via the South Link five days a week 48 weeks a year came to $1,440 ($3 for 2 stage on HOP one way times two (so return trip) five days a week = $30. $30 times 48 weeks = $1,440)