A new 10-year budget for Auckland has dropped funding for the fourth and final part of the up to $1.4 billion dollar Eastern Busway, partly because the Government ditched the regional fuel tax.
The Auckland Council believes it has been left $600m short by that early call to do away with the fuel tax, which was set up to fund big transport projects.
Because the Government had been offering matching grants on top of that money, the city will not have up to $1.2b anticipated to cover remaining planned works, like finishing the Eastern Busway.
The busway runs from Panmure through Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s Pakuranga electorate and into Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s electorate. It is seen as critical to easing years of congestion in the city’s south eastern suburbs and expected to carry 30,000 people a day when complete.
Two stages have been completed to the Pakuranga Mall and Stage 3 is underway, including a $170m flyover at Reeves Rd. Simeon Brown insisted the $341m remaining unspent in the fuel tax account be directed to the Eastern Busway, projects associated with the City Rail Link and other infrastructure.
But the remaining sector, Stage 4, from Ti Rakau Drive over a stormwater wetland and across to a new station at Botany town centre has now been formally cut from Auckland Council’s proposed Long-Term Plan (LTP) for the next decade.
If abandoned, the buses would need to rejoin cars on roads leading to the busy Ti Rakau Drive-Te Irirangi Drive intersection.
Mayor Wayne Brown said: “The axing of the regional fuel tax has required us to reconsider our capital programme. A number of projects have been cut from the budget or descoped as a result. This includes Stage 4 of the Eastern Busway (the Botany Interchange) which is no longer funded – a reduction of $298.7m or 88 percent of the project.”
Other cut projects he listed in his final proposal for councillors to vote on at a Thursday committee meeting include “part deferral or reductions in the road improvements for Glenvar Road at Torbay on the North Shore (reduced by 30 percent)” and planned spends for “network resilience, cycleways, Matiatia Landside Park and Ride, Henderson Rail-Bus Station Improvements, and the Point Chevalier Town Centre Layover”.
The ball is now back in Simeon Brown’s court, as he will have to decide if the Government steps in to pay for all of the Stage 4 work to complete the busway and achieve the congestion benefits for residents and the commercial and industrial businesses in nearby East Tamaki.
When he announced the ending of the regional fuel tax (of 11.5 cents a litre) from June 30, the minister emphasised the importance of building a good transport network in the city.
“Transport is pivotal in unlocking Auckland’s economic potential and enhancing the quality of life for its residents. The city’s economic prosperity relies on a robust transport network that allows Aucklanders to get where they need to go quickly and safely.”
The coalition has issued its Government Policy Statement on transport, and Auckland Transport, KiwiRail and the NZ Transport Agency are framing a regional land transport plan that would bid for future funds from the national land transport fund. Wayne Brown has been keen to win more influence over this process and the ultimate funding.
With the final stage of the busway, and those other projects listed by the mayor, now removed or reduced in the LTP transport budget, what will Auckland spend its money on for the next 10 years?
$14 billion in capital works
The mayor says his final proposal to councillors adds $600m to the $13.4 billion he originally intended to provide to Auckland Transport for capital spending, to make up for the loss of that $600m in fuel tax revenue.
The total of $14b is way below Auckland Transport’s total capital projects wishlist estimated at $24b, but Wayne Brown said it was above the “bare minimum” scenario, and remained a significant investment – averaging $1.4b a year.
Brown wants to stop any new mega projects and instead spend money on finishing works underway (like the City Rail Link and Stage 3 of the Eastern Busway) and maintaining the road and public transport assets the city already has.
He is proposing $5.5 billion over the 10-year period on the council’s share of road renewals, but with a big proviso that the Government must be forthcoming with co-funding.
“The proposed investment does come with one important condition. We can only afford to fund renewals if we have access to a fair contribution from the National Land Transport Fund,” he writes in his transport recommendations.
“We need to start by looking after what we already have, including properly funding the renewal of our existing roads, cycleways, and busways.
“It is essential that we keep our roads in good order, otherwise they will further deteriorate, leading to the widespread potholes we have seen on our state highways, which I will not see repeated in our city.”
Auckland Transport had originally sought an extra $130m in operating funding over the LTP period but Brown is offering just $70m and has required the agency to cut the other $60m.
Rail level crossings going
One big increase in the mayor’s proposed budget between his draft which went out for public consultation and the final version is upping funds for removing railway level crossings as part of an increased extra spend going from $190m to $610m.
“The extra spend will be focused on completion of the next four critical level crossing removals in Takaanini,” he explains.
“These projects have long been seen as critical, but no one has managed to progress their delivery. They have been identified by Auckland Transport as the top priority for additional transport spending.
“Following the opening of the City Rail Link, barrier arms on these crossings will be down between 54 percent and 78 percent of the time, which is obviously unacceptable as would cause intense congestion in the Takaanini area,” Brown writes.
“Removing these four level crossings and replacing them with three road overbridges and two active mode bridges will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and allow more rail passenger and freight services to run.
“Auckland Transport will need to work with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and KiwiRail to consider the most appropriate funding and delivery model for these projects, so we can get on and deliver them.
“More level crossing removals across Auckland will ultimately be required if we are to make the most of the City Rail Link so a long-term funding and delivery model makes sense.”
Public Transport
The mayor originally intended to allow AT $60m more in operating funding for the decade, but has upped that by $10m to the $70m now before councillors.
He wants that extra $10m, which again, he hopes to be matched by the Government, to pay for $5m extra in rail track maintenance. “I am told that this is critical to improving rail patronage which has been badly impacted by Covid and service reliability issues.”
There would be $4m to protect services to some suburbs that AT had indicated might be unable to be continued, and $1m to help increase capacity on the most popular bus routes.
Brown is pushing ahead with his plan for a $50 a week pass covering bus, train and inner harbour ferries and also for an AT scheme to make it easier for employers to pay their workers’ transport fees.
Cycling and safety
Not much is said in the final proposals for the LTP budget on cycling and safety. But Brown notes under a heading of ‘Cut spending on low value initiatives’ that he proposes “slashed funding for raised crossings and expensive cycleways”.
His intent mirrors Simeon Brown’s sentiment in the Government Policy Statement on transport, which generally pushed funding for roads and better outcomes for cars and downgraded the publicly funded focus on cycling, walking and road safety initiatives like raised crossings and lower speeds.
Wayne Brown tells councillors: “We should confirm that direction, which has been locked into place with the new Government Policy Statement anyhow.”
