Why transport and access is important

Being able to easily reach the things that matter most to people, such as work, school, family and friends, is vital for us to lead successful and enjoyable lives.

To achieve this we need efficient ways for people, goods and services to move within and across Auckland, throughout New Zealand and across the world.

For Auckland to be a truly accessible city we also need to make sure that people of all ages and abilities, including people with reduced mobility levels, can go about their daily lives and get from one place to another easily, affordably and safely.

This means tailoring the way infrastructure and services are provided so they meet the wide range of Aucklanders’ needs.

Find out more by visiting the Universal Design website and the Office for Disability issues website

Transport and access in the past

Our transport system is key to making Auckland more accessible, and for us all to benefit from growth. While great improvements have been made over the past 20 years, historic under-investment, combined with rapid population growth, means we still face big challenges.

Past decisions shaped Auckland into a relatively low-density city where private vehicles were the only viable option for almost all trips.

Auckland’s continued population growth and a concentration of job growth in a few key locations have put this car-focused transport system under significant strain. There is now widespread recognition that we cannot simply build our way out of the problems we face. Making progress requires a combination of:

• additional investment
• rebalancing effort to other forms of mobility
• focusing on changing our travel behaviour.

A big increase in transport investment over the last two decades has mostly completed the motorway network and started to develop a quality public transport system, that makes it possible for people to avoid congestion when they travel by bus, train or ferry.

Over the last few years there has also been investment in cycle ways. Read about how we’re making Auckland more cycle friendly.

In some areas there have been improvements for pedestrians as well, such as the Te Ara Mua Future Streetsproject in Māngere, ranging from how traffic is managed, to better paving, lighting and safety.

However, the legacy of past decisions is still felt today. Many projects that were first planned decades ago, such as the City Rail Link, are only now being built. This makes it difficult to address today’s problems, let alone prepare ourselves for future growth. Read more on the City Rail Link website.

As a consequence, people living in large parts of Auckland still don’t have many choices in the way they travel. Major chokepoints and bottlenecks also remain on many main roads.

How we can improve transport and access

Improving transport and access in Auckland requires an integrated approach and is a partnership between Auckland Council and central government. The Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) developed a long-term strategic approach to address Auckland’s transport challenges.

This work emphasised the need to focus on:

• getting much more out of existing infrastructure
• maximising new opportunities to influence travel demand
• ensuring investment is targeted to the greatest challenges.

For more information visit the Auckland Transport Alignment Project website.

ATAP confirmed that transport funding is a major challenge for Auckland. Relying on traditional funding sources such as rates, fuel excise duty and road-user charges is not enough to meet the needs of such a fast growing area.

Addressing this challenge will require:

• an overall increase in funding from recent levels to keep up with Auckland’s growth
• ensuring funding is prioritised by need rather than mode, and through fair and consistent funding arrangements between central government, Auckland Council and the private sector
• continuing to explore new funding tools.

We can predict some changes to the transport system, but the further into the future we look, the more unknowns there are.

What we can confidently expect is that physical travel will be very different. The things we travel in or on may be very different than now, and the networks or infrastructure that support these ways of travelling may also be very different.

This change may be gradual, but is highly likely. The transport infrastructure we build must be as adaptable to the future as possible.

Improving access depends on the entire transport system being managed and developed as an integrated whole, across the different networks (arterial roads, light and heavy rail, motorways, local streets, ferries) and different modes (private vehicle, public transport, walking and cycling).

The system must also cater for the different places where people live and work, from high density urban centres to local suburbs and rural areas.

Making it easier and more affordable for people to get to work, school or training is particularly important for increasing economic productivity and everyone’s prosperity.

A transport system that offers reasonable commuting times to a wide range of jobs has multiple benefits:

• it enhances the ability of employers to find suitable workers
• it boosts job satisfaction and business productivity
• it reduces the vulnerability of workers to long-term unemployment in the event of (unforeseen) employment change or job loss.

The efficient movement of goods and services is also essential to prosperity. The Ports of Auckland and Auckland Airport are New Zealand’s main international gateways, so Auckland has a significant role in the distribution of freight within Auckland, to neighbouring regions as well as to the rest of New Zealand.

While major upgrades to State Highway 1 to the north and south of Auckland are planned or underway, these improvements may have to be complemented by future upgrades to the rail network to better connect the upper North Island. Read about Passenger rail transport between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

The vast bulk of freight and commercial travel in Auckland is by medium and small size vehicles distributing goods to retailers or to homes, and by service workers such as plumbers or electricians. Travel delays and uncertainty about trip times create real and substantial costs to businesses. This increases costs for everyone.

An integrated approach will improve our ability to ensure consistent service provision, an effective network and affordable travel choices.

Combined, these areas:

• account for half of New Zealand’s gross domestic product and
• are likely to account for more than 70 per cent of New Zealand’s population growth over the next 30 years.

Recent improvements to road transport between Auckland and Hamilton, in particular progress towards completing the Waikato Expressway, have created substantial travel time and safety improvements. However, at peak times journeys are likely to remain long and relatively unreliable, largely because of congestion on Auckland’s southern motorway.

Frequent and regular passenger rail services between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga would offer a congestion-free alternative to road travel, and would complement the upgraded road network. It would also provide a better road travel experience for those who continue to drive.

Inter-regional passenger rail has the potential to reduce travel times between Auckland and Hamilton to just over an hour, and reduce times between Tauranga and Auckland to around two hours.

It would support growth in northern Waikato towns by making inter-regional commuting a viable proposition.

The services would also:

• provide an express rail service within Auckland, which would reduce travel times between Auckland city centre and Auckland Airport (via connection at Puhinui Station)
• provide options for residents of northern Waikato to commute to Auckland for work
• make better use of the existing rail network
• improve the resilience of the transport network
• reduce congestion, transport related emissions and deaths and injuries occurring on the road network.

Housing growth is likely to spread significantly into new greenfield areas on the periphery of urban Auckland. At the same time, changes in Auckland’s economy means job growth is likely to cluster in major centres.

What this means

Despite Auckland’s projected overall population and employment growth over the next 30 years, many Aucklanders, especially those in the south and the west, may need to travel further to reach their jobs.

This will put additional pressure on our transport networks and ultimately limit or reduce the number of jobs that can be reached within a reasonable commute time.

Improving access to employment is a key way of improving prosperity and lifting people out of poverty. So it is particularly concerning that the areas facing the greatest challenges in accessing employment are also some of the most economically deprived communities in Auckland.

What we can do about it

To address this challenge we need to focus on both improving the transport system and shaping the way Auckland grows. This includes:

• encouraging much stronger business growth and employment opportunities around Albany, Westgate and Manukau, so that people have more options to work or study close to where they live
• encouraging substantial housing growth in inner areas and along main transport routes
• making better use of existing transport networks, which includes increasing the share of travel by walking, cycling and public transport
• targeting investment in new transport infrastructure to address access issues.

Stronger integration between transport and land use decisions is required so that housing, business and employment growth occurs in areas with better travel options.

This will help reduce some of the pressure that growth places on our transport system.

Integrating land use and transport is also required at the street level. The planning and design of our streets must support quality, vibrant urban amenity and good living environments.

Designing streets and transport facilities to reflect Māori culture, through the use of Te Aranga design principles will help affirm Auckland’s unique point of difference. Find out more about these principles on the Auckland Design Manual website.

As Auckland grows, competition for limited street space will increase. Auckland Transport’s Roads and Streets Framework outlines an approach to providing greater priority to pedestrians and place making. It does this through:

• the reallocation of road space
• slower speeds
• safer intersections
• reduced crossing times.

See also Auckland’s Transport Design Manual.

How this can be done

Better integration of land use and transport to support quality urban living will include:

• prioritising transport investment that supports intensification in the existing urban area, supports growth in new urban areas and improves connections between these newly developing areas and the rest of Auckland
• encouraging housing and employment growth in areas with better transport connections. This will enable shorter commutes and reduce pressure on the transport system
• designing and managing streets in a way that makes it easier for people to get around and enjoy the places in which they live and work, using good design to manage any trade-offs between vehicle movement and place making functions.