Now is the time for providing free public transport to events at our stadiums for the sake of our small businesses, residents and the environment.
At many events at Eden Park and other stadiums, free public transport has been provided. Recently, I was disappointed to see that the Blues decided to end free public transport for their games at Eden Park, which had previously been co-funded with Auckland Transport.
People come from all over the city to these games, and there’s been a real effort to reduce the cost of tickets, with adults from $19 and children just $10. Still, bringing a family from somewhere like South Auckland can be pricey.
I loved it when Labour brought in half-price public transport, because this made transport costs more equitable, particularly for those who live further away in Auckland and are hit by the highest fares.
As a resident down the road from Eden Park, I’ve seen what an important role it plays to residents and businesses in the Mt Albert electorate. Recently, I conducted a survey of over 1000 residents near Eden Park. It was clear that many residents love hosting sports and concerts at Eden Park – in fact, people were very supportive of doubling the number of concerts per year from six to 12.
I did also hear about some of the effects events cause residents such as noise, street closures and parking issues. The streets most affected are those just beyond areas that are cordoned off, such as in Sandringham and Arch Hill, where people park their cars. Recently, my brother made the mistake of trying to pick up furniture from my house in middle of a game; what a nightmare!
The community is greatly assisted if spectators come by train or bus. Eden Park is going to be even easier to get to via Kingsland Sation once the CRL is complete. Trains have much greater capacity than any other form of transport – if you want to move people en masse, they are the best option.
Free transport means people can come to an event, shop, eat and drink. This in turn supports our hospitality sector. In my area, this would greatly benefit the wonderful cafes, restaurants and bars in Kingsland and Morningside. I would love to see the city or central government assist businesses in this proactive way.
An extension of the idea of free transport to events could be to allow free transport around the city all day with an event ticket. Visitors would be encouraged to make a day of it and small businesses all over the city reap the rewards.
Finally, let’s not forget about the environment. Taking cars off the road in favour of our environmentally cleaner buses and trains is the best thing we could do for carbon emissions reductions and our air quality. (HELEN WHITE)
helen.white@parliament.govt.nz www.labour.org.nz/HelenWhite
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