Fuel crisis a wake-up call for smarter transport choice.
Petrol prices are soaring off the back of the conflict in Iran, and I know Aucklanders are feeling it. Filling the tank has become expensive and that flows through to everything else.
But here’s the reality – a crisis like this is also a moment to reflect and change behaviour.
Those who can use public transport, now’s the time to use it. Auckland has some great options. When you choose to catch a bus or a train, you’re not just saving money and freeing up the roads, you’re also making a better choice for the environment.
The $50 fare cap is great value and it provides people with certainty about how much they’ll spend each week to get around.
There has been talk about allowing trucks into bus lanes because of the high price of diesel.
But bus lanes exist for one reason: to make the bus quicker than the car. As soon as you open them up to trucks, you jam the lane and destroy the incentive for people to use public transport. We won’t allow a simplistic solution to create a bigger problem.
The frequency in Auckland’s public transport network is already good but now we need to ramp up occupancy.
That means more people actually using the services we’ve already invested in. It also means stopping the dumb stuff like government policies that effectively subsidise people to stay in their cars, instead encouraging the simple step of getting on a bus or train.
Truckies can make better use of how they use our roads.
We have 24 hours in a day, but we mostly only use our roads for six of them. Instead of clogging up the network during the day, we should be moving more freight at night when the roads are empty. It’s better, cheaper and faster.
Logistics is a partnership. If truckies pass on the real cost of daytime congestion, warehouses will open at night.
We’re already seeing it. Drivers who can only make two trips during the day can make four at night. That’s a productivity win and a fuel-saving win.
This fuel crisis is also putting real pressure on the books. It has added a lot of costs to a public transport system.
Twenty-seven per cent of buses are now electric and that number will rise, but ferries do use a lot of diesel and they are heavily subsidised.
This fuel spike won’t last forever. But the habits we build now might.
So, don’t waste the opportunity. If you can take public transport, do it. If you run a business, think about when and how you’re using the roads.
Auckland works best when we use what we’ve got and, right now, we need to use it smarter. (Wayne Brown)
mayorofaucklandmedia@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Wayne Brown: Mayor of Auckland
