The Green Party today announced that it will trial a passenger rail service between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga starting in 2019, when it is in government. The passenger rail service will be based on the concept released today by Greater Auckland. It would run five times a day between Hamilton and Auckland, with one return service to Tauranga daily. “National has let regional rail services rust away but the Greens in government will restore rail as the backbone of New...

The Green Party has welcomed the Government’s recent announcement that one in three cars in its vehicle fleet will be electric by 2021, but it is still ‘low power.’ “While this is a good start, we need to charge up the ambition to ensure that New Zealand is keeping pace with the rest of the world,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.  “Aotearoa should be leading the world in electric vehicle adaptation. Instead, National’s lack of leadership has...

Documents obtained by the Green Party show the National government has quietly delayed work to protect the route for light rail to the airport from development, having previously said it was being urgently progressed, the Green Party said today. A briefing to Transport Minister Simon Bridges in March said a business case for route protection for the CBD to airport corridor would be completed in 2017.  https://archive.greens.org.nz/file/nzta-oia-responsepdfAn Official Information Act response from the NZ Transport Agency in July said that...

The Green Party is welcoming Labour’s commitment to greener transport for Auckland after it today announced support for light rail lines to the airport and West Auckland. Labour today said it would prioritise building light rail lines to the airport and West Auckland within a decade. In July the Green Party announced it would fast track rail to the airport by 2021 and is campaigning to have rail to the North Shore completed by 2030. “It’s fantastic to have Labour...

Trains can help people and freight in regional New Zealand travel safely and efficiently, taking trucks and cars off the road, and reducing the pollution that causes climate change. The indefinite closure of the Manawatū Gorge is an opportunity to revitalise passenger trains in this part of New Zealand. The Green Party will: Establish a new twice-daily passenger train service between Palmerston North and Napier: the Ruahine Runner. Bring fares down on the existing Capital Connection commuter service between Palmerston...

The Green Party today launched a plan to trial a new twice-daily passenger train from Palmerston North to Napier, while the Manawatū Gorge is closed to road traffic, as well as a commitment to increase funding to reduce fares on the Capital Connection service between Palmerston North and Wellington. “National has let regional rail services rust away but the Greens in government will restore rail as the backbone of New Zealand’s transport system, for freight and for people,” said Green...

The Green Party is announcing today that in Government it will fast-track the building of a new rail line to Auckland airport to be completed in 2021, in time for the next America’s Cup. By light rail it will take approximately 43 minutes to travel from Wynyard Quarter, up Queen Street and Dominion Road to the airport. The $2.3 billion rail line will be a project of national significance funded from the transport fund. In Government we will also investigate...

Today, most kids travel to school stuck in the backseat of a car, creating congestion and pollution in our cities. Safety is the number one concern that stops parents from sending their child to school on foot or by bike. When parents wave goodbye to their child in the morning they should know they’re going to be safe when riding their bike or walking with their friends to school. Kids walking, biking or riding their scooter to school are healthier,...

The Green Party is setting a target to get half of New Zealand’s freight moving by rail and sea within 10 years, which will dramatically reduce the number of dangerous trucks clogging up New Zealand’s roads. Instead of demanding that rail return a profit, which has set rail up to fail, we’ll fund it from the transport budget in the same way roads are, providing the investment needed to move freight in the most effective and clean way. Every year,...

The Government needs to vastly improve Auckland's public transport before it introduces tolls on Auckland's roads, or it risks further punishing people who live on the edge of the city, the Green Party said today. Finance Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Government and Auckland Council are investigating road tolls in Auckland to manage demand on the roads. “Aucklanders need to have access to reliable, fast, affordable trains and buses before road pricing is introduced to discourage people driving...