What does the new Auckland Plan mean to the future development of public transport?



The Auckland Plan by Auckland Council

Most recently, a draft Auckland Plan has been published to the public as the region’s primary planning document since transition to the new Auckland super city. As introduced by the Auckland Mayor, Len Brown, the Auckland Plan will be a blueprint for building the region over the next 30 years. The vision for Auckland future as defined in the plan as to make Auckland the most liveable city in the world. With regard to the vision, the development of public transport will become particularly important for which it means to enable people to move around the city more easily, have more choice in how they move around, and for achieving an overall development and prosperity of the city.


Auckland Public Transport
photo Cred: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Focus has been placed on the public transport sector as shown in one of the sectors, People and Infrastructure, in the plan. It has been emphasized that making improvement in the level of public transport is a key part of the future transport development. Further, the plan also mentioned about the CBD rail loop project and its importance to achieve the vision of the plan.


Auckland Airport
photo Cred: 2.bp.blogspot.com

Apart from the provision for a second harbour crossing, the council also introduced a project on building railway line to link to the airport, and these two projects have been regarded as additional goals in the plan. Further, the plan identifies some of the region’s significant projects on development of public transport, which include Northern Busway Extension to Orewa, Henderson-Westgate Albany bus RTN, the Western Ring Route and Panmure-Botany-Manukau City Center RTN. All of these proposed or ongoing projects have shown council’s great effort in advancing the public transport services for people and the initiatives to promote and encourage more people to use public transport for their travel in the city.


People on Harbour Bridge
photo Cred: 1.bp.blogspot.com



Reference:

Auckland Council, (2011) Auckland Unleashed: The Auckland Plan Discussion Document, Auckland: Auckland Council.

The widespread public transport network across the region

Public transport in Auckland mainly consists of three modes: the bus, train and ferry. Services are provided under the “MAXX” brand by private transport providers, and coordinated by the Auckland Transport, which is a council controlled organization.

 

the MAXX train
image Cred: MAXX Auckland Regional Transport

The bus routes in Auckland cover five main areas which are the central, northern, eastern, southern and western suburbs. By looking at the map, which shows the central bus route, provided below, we will see that Auckland has got an incredibly comprehensive bus network, and the bus routes are mainly radical lines connecting the central Auckland with the surrounding suburbs. 

the Auckland Central bus route
map Cred: Auckland Transport Blog 

In terms of the train services, significant improvements have been made to the commuter rail services throughout the years. The map below shows the current and proposed Auckland Region rail networks:



Wider Auckland rail network
map Cred: Wikipedia

From the map, we can see that Britomart, as a transit center, connects the railway lines to the west, east and south. The proposed railway line will link to the northern part of the region, and with some interconnection between the existing western and southern line.

Commuting by ferry has been regarded as a feature of Auckland transport. Currently, the ferry connects mainly to Devonport, North Shore, and Rangitoto Island, Waiheke Island, Manukau City, and Great Barrier Island. The Map below shows the ferry routes.



Auckland Ferry Routes
Map Cred: Wikipedia

It has been indicated by the Auckland council to extend the current ferry service network in order to cope with the future growth.

Overall, by overview of the three predominant public transport network across the region, we have see that Auckland has a comprehensive transport network. Auckland CBD has become a transport hub and a transit center in the region. With respect to continuous growth and the rapid development of the city, the government needs to make sure any new transport projects to maximize its carry capacity to meet the demand of the public, and makes Auckland an example to other cities for it to be able to provide effective and efficient public transport services for all the commuters.

Reference:

Auckland Transport Blog, (Nov/ 9/2009) Analysing our bus network,

http://transportblog.co.nz/2009/11/09/analysing-our-bus-network/, (accessed: 19/May/2011).

Wkipedia, (12/May/2011) Public transport in Auckland,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport_in_Auckland, (accessed: 21/May/2011).

1 in 5 use public transport: The increased demand on public transport in Auckland

According to the latest results of a Quality of life survey by the Nielsen company, it shows one in five Aucklanders use public transport for their travel. The survey found that there has been an increase of people using public transport from 47 to 60 percent in only six years, and the travellers are satisfied with the public transport services for its safe, easy to get around, reliable, frequent, and affordable.



imgae Cred: cairnstransitnetwork



the free bus service in central Auckland
photo Cred: AKT

Furthermore in addition, as recognised by the council, it was found that the Auckland public transport use has reached the highest in 60 years, with a rail patronage increased to more than 10 million and bus to about 50 million throughout the years. And this is largely due to the rise of petrol prices for recently.


photo Cred: AKT



no...the petrol price hike!
image Cred: BuzzVines

The consequences can be viewed in two sides. On the one hand, the largely increased number of people using the public transport has put lots pressure on the existing public transport system for its improvement to cope with the ongoing needs of the public. On the other hand, the improvement on the public transport system in Auckland indicates the initiatives to encourage more people to use public transport services, instead of using cars for travel, therefore, to promote the development for a low carbon future and protect the environment.


use of new HOP cards for public transport
photo Cred: Auckland Transport

As one of the improvement to Auckland public transport services, the HOP smartcard has been introduced recently since the start of May, and with a fully integrated multi-operator smartcard with bus, rail and ferry to be coming soon in this year. The HOP has been regarded as a successful ticketing programme for which it will make the travel cost cheaper, improved boarding times, and ease of use. It is highly advocated by the government, as the Auckland Mayor, Len Brown, says: “The HOP card and integrated ticketing is one of the keys to continuing the surge in the growth in public transport patronage in Auckland. It will make public transport more convenient, cost effective, comfortable and faster. More people now use public transport than at the time in the past, I am determined we can double current patronage in the near future and the HOP card is one way we will do that.” According to the news, more than 17,000 Aucklanders will begin to use HOP for their travel within a few months.

Reference:

Auckland Transport, (29/April/2011) Hop’s on the Move for Auckland Public Transport, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1104/S00731/hops-on-the-move-for-auckland-public-transport.htm, (accessed: 18/May/2011).

Auckland Transport, (17/May/2011) 17,000 Aucklanders HOP to it,

http://www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz/about-us/News/LatestNews/Pages/17000-move-to-hop.aspx, (accessed: 21/May/2011).

AKT (April/26/2011) Auckland PT Patronage Breaks Records,

http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/04/26/auckland-public-transport-patronage-sets-new-records/, (accessed: 18/May/2011).

AKT (May/10/2011) 1 in 5 Aucklanders Use PT?,

http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/05/10/1-in-5-aucklanders-use-pt/, (accessed: 18/May/2011).

Radio New Zealand (30/Mar/2011) Auckland public transport use highest in 60 years, http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/71665/auckland-public-transport-use-highest-in-60-years, (accessed: 18/May/2011).



More Carparks needed? : CBD car parks and its related issues

The latest news by AKT has argued about an issue that, while on the one hand council is encouraging a CBD rail link and being willing to consider closing off Queen St, it is also looking at making more money by encouraging more cars in the city. The evidence was seen that the council attempts to build more car parks around the city, along with some new development, such as the waterfront development involving building Queens Wharf and a carpark around the corner on Quay Street.



A new carpark was built in Quay St. More carparks?
photo Cred: AKT

Further, it has been argued that the intention of the council of providing more carparks in the city is not seen clear, and the council needs to make up its mind whether it wants to embrace a shift away from the vehicle clogged city and Auckland’s obsession with cars or ignoring these issues for pursuit of revenue. The discussion followed by the news also shows that most people think no more carparks should be created even for the future development.


one of the carparks in CBD

To deal with this issue, I think it’s better for the council to consider use of some other options for managing the increased demand of cars and promoting the use of public transport instead, the context of Travel Demand Management (TDM) is suggested here to apply to the central city transport planning.

The TDM is increasingly being used in different countries to improve the efficiency of the transportation system by managing the demand through a set of measures instead of increasing directly the capacity of needs for private motor vehicles, like building more roads and provision of more parking spaces. TDM is wide-ranging and covers tools and techniques ranging from land use planning to education workplaces on the benefits of introducing parking management systems. Some specific measures and methods of TDM include:

ž   Tele-work options;

ž   Flexible work hours and scheduling;

ž   Improved transit routing and scheduling;

ž   Commuter, as well as school-pool, ridesharing programs;

ž   Vanpool operations, as well as vanpool financial subsidies;

ž   Advanced traveler information;

ž   Shuttle services;

ž   Road pricing;

ž   Parking management in terms of parking control

ž   Car-use pricing

Instead of building more carparks, various types of TDM measures should be practically applied wide across the central area to meet the increased demand of the vehicles.

Reference:

AKT, (May/18/2011) More Carparks sends Mixed Message, http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/05/18/more-carparks-sends-mixed-message/comment-page-1/#comment-32828, (accessed: 18/May/2011).

Auckland Regional Council (2005) Chapter 8: Travel Demand Management, Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy 2005, Auckland: ARC.

Auckland CBD’s future public transport network: a combination of bus, rail and tram

Auckland CBD’s public transport network: a combination of bus, rail and tram

It is expected to see within a few years, Auckland CBD will have a combination public transport network, which consists of bus, rail and tram services.

Currently, the Auckland Transport is planning to improve bus services around the Auckland CBD, and the surrounding city suburbs like Ponsonby, Parnell and Pt Chevalier. The map of showing the proposed new bus network in the central Auckland is provided below. The original map is accessed: http://www.maxx.co.nz/media/12194/cbd%20and%20western%20bays%20proposed%20new%20routes%20march%202011.pdf




Proposed changes to the bus network
Map Cred: MAXX Auckland Transport

The changes will be made in terms of higher quality buses, more frequent and better connected inner city service, faster universities connections, better connections to Wynyard Quarter, quicker and more direct LINK bus services, an addition of new outer loop service and other addition route to other parts of the inner city suburb. 

the inner city LINK bus service
Photo Cred: flickr YAHOO.

The improved bus services will enable more frequent, reliable and connective bus services, and make it more easier to get around in the central Auckland. Moreover, the new proposed bus network will be expected to work collaboratively with the new tram and rail way network. The combination of the three inner city public transport network will work together efficiently to make a real difference to the inner city travel mode, public transport will be predominately used in the inner Auckland and expected to largely replace the current mode of private vehicle travel.


the city circuit free bus
image Cred: thetraveleditor



Reference:

MAXX Auckland Transport, (2011) Proposed changes to Auckland’s CBD and inner suburbs buses, http://www.maxx.co.nz/info/network-developments/proposed-changes-to-auckland's-cbd-and-inner-suburbs-buses.aspx, (accessed: 16/May/2011).

Britomart Transport Center- transport hub in Auckland

As discussed before in the preceding articles in my blog, we see the Auckland rail loop and the Waterfront tramway are both proposed to link to Britomart Railway Station. Let’s now have a look at the use of Britomart Station and its significant role as a transport centre in Auckland, and even in New Zealand.



Britomart Transport Center
photo Cred: Wikipedia

Britomart is located in downtown at Queens Street, it is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, and it’s the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk Line, which links to the country’s capital Wellington. At present it contains bus interchange within the railway station.


Map of North Island Main Trunk Railway
map Cred: Mueller

The rail has work effectively throughout the years to make the total amount of travellers using public transport to increase significantly, primarily for an increase for domestic travel. It is introduced that the rail patronage has increased from 2.5 million journeys in 2003 to 9.2 million in 2011 this year.


the Britomart transport station
photo Cred: Britomart Transport Center

Currently the station holds a capacity of serving up to 10,500 passengers during peak hour of a day. To meet the future needs and increase the capacity of rail, a tunnel underneath Auckland CBD is to be established soon. With the addition of the Waterfront tramway linked to it, the Britomart station is expected to finally fullfill the needs of the increased travel demand and meet public expectations that “Britomart opened ahead of its time”. 

the busy Britomart
photo Cred: canvass Auckland



Reference:

Wikipedia, (April/25/2011) North Island Main Trunk,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Island_Main_Trunk_Railway, (accessed: 14/May/2011).

Wikipedia, (May/8/2011) Britomart Transport Center,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britomart_Transport_Centre, (accessed: 14/May/2011).

Recommendations to Auckland CBD project on Waterfront trams

By study on the project on Auckland Waterfront trams and Melbourne City’s tram system, and a comparison between them, here are some recommendations I made to Auckland Waterfront trams which is under construction recently.


tramway under construction
photo Cred: AKT

Since Melbourne has the world’s biggest tram system in the world and it has been operated successfully and effectively throughout the years, some of its application can be installed on Auckland’s electric tram system to improve on the project that is currently being urdertaken.

l  Melbourne: to cope with the roading system, the trams are given priority to use the road and to pass first at intersections.

Auckland: there’s an issue over how motorists will cope with trams making the turn at intersection, in addition to heavy traffic. Such as at the interaction near Vodafone, it’s a busy turning point already.



the corner near Vodafone at Viaduct
photo Cred: AKT

I think the solution could be use of traffic light at the intersection, and to give the tram priority to turn at the corner, while at the same time, to make sure other vehicles run fluently without crowding. Auckland: on-road parking will be removed due to the installation of the tramline. But will there be an issue for lack of parking spaces for the motorists? Especially for the place where there are businesses around, which means there will be a lot of cars parking there. For present, the tram is primarily designated for use for tourists, but it is hard to say how many local travellers will use the tram for their travel. If the local travellers decide to take the tram for their travel to work or the places nearby, there could be less dependence on the cars, therefore, there won’t be lack of parking space any more.



Curbside car parking is being lost

photo Cred: AKT

Another interesting feature in terms of the design of the tram or railway is regarded environmental friendly, which is the green railway. The trams are gliding along on beds of grass and the idea that undermined the design is about a combination of landscaping with transportation. Maybe there’s an opportunity for Auckland to apply this idea of use of green tramway to our tram system as well?

Green tramway at Melbourne
image Cred: MRC McLean Hazel




Reference:

AKT, (April/07/2011) Waterfront Trams to Britomart,

http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/04/07/waterfront-trams-to-britomart/,(accessed: 12/May/2011).

Meinhold, B. (Jan/27/2009) Europe’s Grass-Lined Green Railways,

http://inhabitat.com/europes-grass-lined-green-railways-good-urban-design/,(accessed: 13/May/2011).

Uncertainty over Auckland’s next harbour crossing

Previously, we have discussed there’s a crucial need for a second harbour crossing in Auckland to accommodate the future growth. But according to fact, there’s a lots discussion raised from the public and the government concerning uncertainty over the second harbour crossing, especially for the government, the fact is that many councillors have failed to get excited over the second harbour crossing plans.



Auckland Harbour Bridge
photo Cred: One News



Some news and discussion from recently are provided here as a reference.

From March of this year, it starts from the NZ Transport Agency claims that a second harbour crossing is needed within 20 years. An evaluation report is published by NZTA, which examines the costs and benefits of two different crossing options in terms of tunnel and bridge.

Then followed by that, the news reported the responses from the councillors to the plan, it argues that many councillors fail to get excited over the second harbour crossing plans by Mike Lee. He thinks the plan by the NZTA does not mean anything except it reopened the issue and triggered debate over on this issue. He also adds that “the public have a clear idea of what they would prefer, and the mayor has a vision…that includes rail across the harbour.” And the Auckland councillors think there is no need for building a second crossing within the next 20 years. While in general, some citizens thought the latest study by NZTA is just a waste of money and always come to the same conclusions as the previous study. Overall, there has been uncertainty over the next harbour crossing. Maybe what we need to ask here is that is there a future for Auckland to have the second harbour crossing?

 

 

 

 

Reference:

Auckland Transport Blog, (28/June/2010) More on Auckland Harbour Crossing Issue, http://transportblog.co.nz/2010/06/28/more-on-the-auckland-harbour-crossing-issue/, (accessed: 09/May/2011).

ONE News, (22/Mar/2011) Second harbour crossing ‘needed within 20 years’, http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/second-harbour-crossing-needed-within-20-years-4078460, (accessed: 13/May/2011).

Orsman, B. (6/April/2011) Councillors fail to get excited over second harbour crossing plans, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-regional-council/news/article.cfm?o_id=16&objectid=10717410, (accessed: 11/May/2011).

A study on Melbourne’s city tram system

Melbourne’s tram network is one of the biggest tram systems in the world and it is a vital part of inner city transport. (VICSIG, 2011) The trams operate 20 hours a day, covering 2445 route kms, with 1770 tram stops provided along the way.



Melbourne's tram system
picture Cred: Wikipedia

Trams in Melbourne are second most used form of public transport service just after the railway network. In terms of its operation and running on the road, trams are given the priority at the intersections, and on some congested streets, trams also have the priority in road usage.

The trams in Melbourne have become a unique feature and part of the city’s character, it is not only used as a transport service, but also attractive to the tourists.

In more detail, different classes of trams used, such as W-class trams, Z-class trams, A-class trams and C, D class. They are classified according to their different characteristics in aspects of carry capacity, speed, and provision of services. There has been additional service added into the tram system, with regard to the improvement of access for the disabled.


Improved access for the disabled people
image Cred: practical public

Another interesting feature of Melbourne’s tram is that there have been suggestion from the public on bring back the tram conductors on the tram system. Many see it as opportunities for fostering a ‘tram culture’ within the community.

  

tram conductors

image Cred: facebook: bring back tram conductors on Melbourne's tram system

The video below will help to get a real sense of the city tram network at Melbourne and understand how the tram system is operated on the road.
Video 1: Melbourne’s Tram

This video provides a detail look at the very large, thriving and expanding tramway system of Melbourne. The trams likely run everywhere across the city and this video is fun.

Another video is also accessed here for which it sees the tram system runs perfectly within the road network, vehicles can pass by the tram or even run follow behind the tram.

Video 2: Melbourne Trams, 2009

                                                               

Reference

Brient, A, (2010) Bring Back Trams Conductors on Melbourne’s Tram System, http://archive.premier.vic.gov.au/share-your-ideas/item/root/bring-back-tram-conductors-on-melbournes-tram-system.html, (accessed: 25/04/2011).

Wikipedia, (2011) Trams in Melbourne, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne, (accessed: 28/04/2011).

Tracking the ongoing tram project

The latest news is released that the Auckland waterfront heritage tram line has been advanced and the government are exploring ways to extend the tramway to the Britomart Transport Center as soon as possible. (AKT, 2011)

 

tramway underconstruction
photo Cred: AKT

And this is what it looks like for Daldy St in the future.

Future view for Daldy Street
photo Cred: AKT

Here are some planning issues with regard to this project:

  

 l  Total cost of restoring the tram system

$8 million.

 l  Explanation of the initiatives of government for carrying on this project

The project is designed with a purpose for making Wynyard Quarter a more attractive place to the visitors. One fact with regard to the tram network is that it is not one of Auckland’s tourist highlights actually, currently, the place around the Wynyard Quarter is not being fully developed and occupied, and with nothing unique for its features, however, the government are confident in developing this area a better place for the tourists in the oncoming years and with an initiatives in transforming this area into an exciting place. I think with regard to the future development, this area is mostly likely to be developed as a recreation center for the local community, especially for the visitors from the outside. Bars, shops, retails are likely the most to be located in this area and the outdoor design of the Wynyard Quarter will be particularly significant in order to achieve the best outcome.

 l  Expected use of the tram

The tram can be quite attractive for the visitors, therefore, the trams are to be used primarily for the tourists, however, it has been recognised by the government that when the tramline gets to Britomart, it could be a different story, as many people work in that area. With regard to this issue, I think there could be a problem in terms of the capacity of the tram and the actual needs of the passengers, that is between the demand and supply.

 l  How the trams are incorporated with the existing transport system

Concerns have been raised with regard to the restoration of the tram system into the existing road network. One of the issues is that as the tramline will run in parallel with the traffic lane, it would have impact on the existing roading system, especially at busy streets where there are large number of cars and buses running on the road. In addition to the heavy traffic, another concern is that as Auckland motorists have not had trams since the 1950s, they may not have any experience to work with the tram, and they may never have learnt the intricacies of manoeuvring around them as practised by experienced locals in Melbourne. (AKT, 2011) In dealing with these issues, I think it’s better for the government to improve on the existing road network, particularly with a focus on the intersection, since the new built tramline will have conjunction with the existing traffic lines.



Melbourne's tram system
Photo Cred: terminalia organisation



Reference:

AKT, (April/7/2011) Waterfront Trams to Britomart, http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/04/07/waterfront-trams-to-britomart/, (accessed: 19/04/2011).

AKT, (May/03/2011) Waterfront Trams Near Destination, http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/05/03/waterfront-trams-nears-destination/, (accessed: 24/04/2011).

Auckland CBD new project: waterfront trams: bringing back of the heritage tram

Last year in June, the Auckland Regional Council has released the news to bring back the electric trams to the Auckland waterfront, this is after an absence of more than 50 years since the electric tram system were removed from the city streets in 1956 (AKT, 2010).



Trams in downtown Auckland 50 years ago
photo Cred: AKT



With regard to the earlier work by the Auckland Regional Council on design of the project, there were two phased proposal for the tramway generally.

Phase One focuses on Wynyard Quarter with a single track loop circuiting Gateway Plaza, Jellicoe Street, Halsey Street, Gaunt Street and Beaumont Street.

Phase Two sees the trams linking to the CBD and connecting it with existing public transport network at Britomart and on Queen Street. (AKT, 2010)



Motat trains will run along the waterfront
Photo Cred: AKT

At last, it is recommended by the government to run the trams around Wynyard Quarter since it would activate this area in the future. It is proposed that the tramway will eventually link the future Wynyard Park, North Wharf and the Viaduct Events Center with Britomart and Queens Wharf. However, since the problem remains unresolved about how to connect the Wynyard Quarter to Britomart for a best option, the government has decided to put down building the connection between the Wynyard and the CBD currently in order to embark on this project soon to see the outcome. (AKT, 2011)

Now the plan is being carried on in the inner city is much likely focusing on phase one of the designed project. The tram will simply travel clockwise on a 1.5km circuit of Wynyard Quarter between Jellicoe, Halsey, Gaunt and Daldy Sts. The picture below shows the proposed tramway.

The heritage tram will travel on a 1.5km circuit of Wynyard Quarter between Jellicoe, Halsey, Gaunt and Daldy Sts
Photo Cred: AKT 

This is how it looks when the proposal is finished.

the waterfront tram system
Photo Cred: AKT



Reference:

AKT, (June/3/2010) The Trams Are Back, http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2010/06/03/the-trams-are-back/, (accessed: 20/04/2011).

AKT, (April/7/2011) Waterfront Trams To Britomart, http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2011/04/07/waterfront-trams-to-britomart/, (accessed 21/04/2011).