Subscribe to RSSWaikato Rail Campaign Continues
The Campaign for Better Transport group continues this weekend with its campaign for a Waikato-Auckland commuter rail service.
This weekend, it’s asking people to sign postcards urging the local National MPs and Environment Waikato councillors to actively support the plan, which they haven’t to date.
CBT’s Jon Reeves says the group considers the arguments of those opposing the trains commencing this year “truly defies logic.”
4 Comments
with council subsidies between $19-27 per passenger journey (one-way) based on estimates from a planned trial http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10611663 I’m not sure that bus services to Papakura wouldn’t be worth considering. I’m not against the idea of a rail service between the two cities, it’d just need to be cost effective for waikato ratepayers. Unfortunately for many people visiting Auckland for the day, spending the time only in the CBD and then heading back to Hamilton CBD doesn’t sound as attractive as having the use of a car while here.
I know Auckland’s PT isn’t the best but we do have a couple of services out of the CBD Joust…
Right, but driving means you go straight to that first destination (albeit probably in traffic) rather than a second trip from town. You are right there are options for onward trips from Britomart. Out of the 700 or so people that were commuting to Auckland from the Waikato in the last census I don’t know how many of them can be converted to a rail journey and if not many the fares would get fairly expensive to cover any decent amount of the costs. It reaches a point where its not worth the cost.
Busses between the cities already exist, so what you propose (except the ‘to Papakura’ part) is not new. The most unfortunate part is that business commuters and general public do not like catching coaches (tourists excepted).
So the rail service is the proven way to take over 90,000 car trips p.a. off SH1 once the service beds in. Without repeating the facts, the service stacks up in terms of BCR, demand, congestion relief, reduction in pollution etc etc etc.
Busses = no
Trains = yes
Ratepayers pay $430 to subsidise roads in Hamilton already!