Auckland Council, Government to announce 10-year funding plan for Auckland transport
Tuesday, 24 April 2018
The Government and Auckland Council will this week unveil what is being touted as a record investment in Auckland's transport system.
On Thursday, Mayor Phil Goff and Transport Minister Phil Twyford will confirm the next 10 years of funding under the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP).
Twyford said on Tuesday the two parties had been working for several months on the plan, which would deliver the 'vital projects' Auckland needed.
'We'll be announcing a funded plan for world-class transport, that doesn't take more than Auckland's fair share from the national transport budget,' Twyford said.
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The plan would help fill a '$9.7 billion hole' in Auckland's transportation funding, he said.
Goff said this version of ATAP would help deal with Auckland's immediate and pressing transport needs.
ATAP is Auckland Council's 30-year vision for Auckland's mass transport system.
'ATAP represents a significant increase in investment in our transport network, but we will still need to find innovative ways to fund further development,' Goff said
It would provide a 'more balanced approach' to developing Auckland's transport network, he said.
Blogger Matthew Lowrie from Greater Auckland said it was highly likely the announcement would feature the Greater Auckland-designed Congestion Free Network (CFN).
Adopted as part of the Government's transpiration policy last year, the CFN outlines an extensive expansion of the city's transit infrastructure through the construction of a light rail network and improving existing ferry, bus and rail routes.
'It should be a transport plan for Auckland as a whole, not just one or two projects which look pretty on the maps.'
The announcement on Thursday will be the latest in a range of solutions presented to fix Auckland's congestion woes, with the most recent being a number of regional fuel taxes.
The Land Transport Management (Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill, expected to be implemented in July, would allow Auckland Council to levy an expected 10c per litre on Auckland petrol sales.
It would sit alongside a fuel excise duty increase of between nine and 12 cents a litre to fund billions of land transport planning, focussing on road safety and rapid rail.
Once both are introduced Auckland motorists would be expected to pay upwards of 20 cents per litre more for petrol.