Public Transport Livery To Be Consistant

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A Universal Brand

 

Auckland Transport are simplifying things as we start heading into the new public transport regime from mid next year.

From Auckland Transport with more on Tuesday:

A consistent look for public transport in Auckland

Auckland Transport is about to give the city’s public transport network a fresh, clear, consistent brand.

Over the next three years the branding will be phased in starting with the LINK services and the Northern Express.

Auckland Transport’s General Manager Marketing and Customer Experience Mike Loftus says a single identity will give Aucklanders and visitors a clearer understanding of what public transport is on offer and which areas specific buses, trains and ferries serve.

“Most metropolitan cities have a single brand network that is easy to recognise and enables clear, consistent communication with customers. Currently in Auckland there is no single identity, we have a variety of brands and looks. Customers relate to buses by the operator name rather than the wider public transport network”.

Auckland Transport’s Group Manager Public Transport Mark Lambert says having a single public transport network will ultimately build public confidence in the developing and improving PT system. “Knowing that all the services are integrated and part of the same system will help grow patronage”.

The  branding will mean common livery across public transport vehicles but differentiated by colour depending on the type of service.

The implementation of the livery is already underway and budgeted for on the electric trains.

Costs for the bus fleet will be kept to a minimum through:

  • Retention of ocean blue for Rapid Network services (Northern Express is already this colour).
  • Retention of red, green, orange and light blue for existing targeted services of the City LINK, Inner LINK, Outer LINK and Airbus.
  • The rest of the bus fleet to be transitioned as part of new contracts and costs incurred through new contract rates.

Mr Lambert says Auckland’s bus operators are aware of the changes and are working with Auckland Transport.

The Auckland Plan looks to double public transport trips from 70 million in 2012 to 140 million in 2022. The Auckland Plan’s priorities for Auckland’s transport system include “a single system transport network approach that manages current congestion problems and accommodates future business population growth to encourage a shift toward public transport.”

The new branding will be unveiled next Tuesday 16 December.

—ends—

Source: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/news-events/a-consistent-look-for-public-transport-in-auckland/

 

Now then if we can just get those interchanges and, park and rides built so people could use this new network more…

 

Funding for Whau Environmental Projects

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$14,000 granted

 

From Auckland Council

$14,000 for Whau environmental projects

 

Two Whau-based projects have been awarded a combined $14,200 from Auckland Council’s Environmental Initiatives Fund to help care for the area’s environment and protect its heritage.

The Whau River Catchment Trust receives $11,700 went to support the rehabilitation of the coastal bush found at the Kurt Brehmer Walkway in Rosebank Peninsula next to the Whau River estuary.

And $2,500 was awarded to the West Lynn Garden Society Inc. providing a contribution towards an audio/visual system to enhance the community education facility.

Whau Councillor Ross Clow says the awards were well deserved.

“It is clear that there is real passion for preserving our natural environment and heritage in Whau. These two projects will make a real difference to the community, and were worthy recipients of the funding.

“Empowering the local community to help benefit the areas they live is an important part of what Auckland Council does, and I am delighted to see these two deserving projects being recognised by the council.

“I am really excited about them and can’t wait to visit them to see how they are getting on,” he says.

The council’s Environmental Initiatives Fund awarded a total of $634,000 in funding to 133 projects across Auckland with an average grant of $4000.

—-ends—-

 

New Zealand in Mourning as #Fonterra Slashes Payout, Fall of 2.7% GDP

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Well that is a triple ouch for our Finance Minister as we go into Christmas.

Looking at stats for Auckland I notice our heavy industry complexes are doing well and continuing to expand especially in metals and heavier manufacturing.

Whether that would be enough to insulate at least Auckland’s economy from the dairy collapse is yet to be seen

OIA Request Back from the Auditor General

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And we learn something new

 

After Councillor Cameron Brewer was flinging around assumptions about correspondence between the Auditor General and Auckland Council I decided to file an Official Information Act request with the Office of the Controller and Auditor General to see if there was any correspondence that could be found to substantiate Brewer’s claims.

This was the OIA I sent:

From: Ben Ross

December 09, 2014

Dear Office of the Controller and Auditor-General,

I am aware that Audit New Zealand audited the Auckland Council
Draft Long Term Plan 2015-2025 in which Audit NZ through its audit
has stated: that owing to circumstances it would be prudent of
Auckland Council to push back the City Rail Link start date from
2015/2016 to another date owing to uncommitted funding by
Government prior to 2020.

My information act request centres around correspondence between
Auckland Council and your Office in relation to the audit of the
2015-2025 LTP and/or the City Rail Link start date situation.

What if any correspondence was had between Audit New Zealand, the
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, and Auckland Council
before and after Audit NNZ carried out its audit of the Long Term
Plan draft.

If there was any correspondence can it be released into the public
domain please as we have confusion coming from Auckland Council
specifically our elected representatives on whether there was
correspondence that either lead to or came as a result from Audit
NZ auditing the draft Long Term Plan.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Ross

……

 

And this is the reply I got back today (which was very fast):

From: Tamar McKewen
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General

December 10, 2014

Kia ora Ben,

Thank you for your query. Auckland Council and Audit New Zealand’s correspondence is part of an ongoing audit process. On 18 December an audit opinion will be issued concluding this process.

The Auditor-General is not subject to the Official Information Act. But as noted above, you will not need it as the opinion will be made public when it is finalised.

Ngā mihi,

Tamar McKewen
Communications Advisor (media)
Reports and Communications Group
Office of the Auditor-General Te Mana Arotake and Audit New Zealand Mana Arotake Aotearoa

 

——

Source: https://fyi.org.nz/request/2312-correspondence-between-auckland-council-and-the-office-of-the-controller-and-auditor-general-in-regards-to-the-2015-2025-long-term-plan-including-around-the-city-rail-link#incoming-7503

 

And there where have it in that I learnt something new insofar as I can not OIA the Auditor General.

 

In any case though my OIA was answered satisfactorily and we will see that opinion on the 18th – the same day the Governing Body meets for the final time this year.

 

My thanks to the Auditor General’s office for a very prompt reply 🙂