Super-City Auckland To Have New Transport Agency
August 27th, 2009
Responsibility for Auckland’s roading as well as buses, rail and ferries under the Super City will be taken over by the Auckland Transport Agency (ATA). Transport Minister Steven Joyce says the Govt is committed to spending $500m on the city’s rail electrification projects but cost over-runs are not an option. He says officials have identified up to $200m of potential cost over-run in the $1.6bn project, which is still on the drawing board.
He rejects Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee’s suggestions the Govt might not honour its promise to pay for electrification. Lee has hit back, saying Auckland commuters need electric trains not another bureaucracy with a fancy name. “We do not need more bureaucratic deck chair shuffling.”
The ATA will be a significant division of the new Auckland Council, which will appoint its directors, who will include two city councillors. Joyce says the agency will be “a really significant part” of the Super City Auckland Council, controlling about $1bn of spending. The Govt and local authorities now spend about $1.5bn on Auckland transport.
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