A windy road ahead for sustainable transport choices

New train services, more priority bus lanes and simpler ticketing solutions are all set to arrive in 2024. For drivers of lower-emission cars, meanwhile, the outlook is mixed.

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, January 19, written by Catherine McGregor.

In today’s edition: Westland battens down the hatches amid forecasts of widespread flooding; PM Luxon defends decision not to attend tomorrow’s national unity hui; Chris Bishop demands action on empty state homes. But first, a look at what we can expect on trains, buses and in our cars in 2024.

City Rail Link inches closer

For Auckland public transport users, the start of the year has brought mixed fortunes. On the bad news front is the announcement that fares are to rise an average of 6.2% from February. More positively, the Eastern Line is back in service after a nine-month suspension and Waitematā Station (Britomart) will reopen on Monday, with work on the platforms that will connect the station with the City Rail Link network almost complete. The CRL itself is set to open in 2025, though Matt Lowrie at Greater Auckland says most station fitouts should be complete by the end of the year. Also set for completion in 2024 is the electrification of the Pukekohe to Papakura rail line (though Lowrie “wouldn’t be surprised if [it] slips to 2025”). 

CRL workers install platform edge ‘warning tactiles’ on the platforms at Waitematā station on Thursday. (Photos: CRL Facebook)

With light rail dead and buried, it’s buses’ time to shine

Staying with Auckland, in 2024 AT is hoping to see bus patronage return to pre-Covid levels of more than 100 million boardings a year. To encourage Aucklanders back onto buses, AT is pushing for bus priority measures, “such as giving late-running buses priority at certain intersections and accelerating the roll-out of bus lanes,” reports BusinessDesk’s Oliver Lewis (paywalled). In Wellington, with light rail off the table, the regional council will be “going big on buses”, The Post’s Erin Gourley reports. Expect to see new bus priority lanes running along “similar routes to what was proposed for light rail”, and the build-out of a separate public transport spine along the waterfront quays to take the pressure off the Golden Mile route. Meanwhile Cantabrians will be able to use their bank cards or digital wallets to touch on and off buses from mid-2024. They’re the lucky pilot users of the National Ticketing Solution, a single payment method that should be available on all public transport across New Zealand by 2026.

Government confirms review of ‘clean car importer standard’

This week saw the announcement of road user charges for electric vehicles from April 1, coming on the heels of the end of the clean car discount, or EV rebate, on December 31. Now, Richard Edwards of Auto Talk reports, transport minister Simeon Brown has ordered a review of emissions standards for petrol vehicles. While Brown had promised a review of the clean car standard (CCS) – he now calls it the ‘clean car importer standard’ – the speed with which the review is happening is being welcomed by the import car industry, which has long argued New Zealand’s standards are too stringent. According to Greig Epps of industry association VIA, purchasers of Japanese imports will pay more from 2026 unless the CCS is loosened. “Even hybrids will be penalised; only EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) will not. Each year after that, vehicles will continue to get more expensive as penalties on available vehicles continue to rise.”

Hybrid cars stage a surprise comeback

While it’s too early to tell how the removal of incentives for EV and PHEV drivers will affect the market, experience overseas suggests the EV revolution may be stuttering. EV sales are slowing in the US while non-PHEV hybrids like the pioneering Toyota Prius are seeing a major reversal of fortune after a decade of falling demand. “Stubbornly high” EV prices and worries about public charging are prompting car buyers to give hybrids another look, according to the New York Times (syndicated in the paywalled NZ Herald). Renters and urbanites who can’t charge a battery-powered car at home are especially keen on the hybrid option. Toyota is now talking about making all new cars hybrid by default, but one emissions expert says hybrid technology is not a silver bullet. “Hybrids buy some time, but EVs are where we need to go” to achieve climate goals, he says.

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Westland battens down the hatches

Dangerous river conditions and significant flooding are being forecast for Westland today as rain continues to batter the area. Up to a metre of rain is expected to fall in the the 36 hours to Saturday morning, with peak rates of 30 to 35mm per hour around midday. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities, Metservice warns. The expected rainfall amounts are similar to those which caused the Waiho Bridge collapse in 2019. Reports The Press (paywalled), “That 2019 storm was considered the worst to hit the West Coast in 37 years.” The weather is the result of a so-called ‘atmospheric river’ from the tropics. Atmospheric rivers are most common on our mountainous coasts and are “typically five times longer than they are wide – that is, long and thin”, Stuff explains. Meanwhile temperatures of up to 30 degrees are expected over the hill in Canterbury today, with even hotter weather tomorrow.

PM defends decision to miss Māori King’s ‘national unity hui’

PM Chris Luxon has defended his decision not to attend tomorrow’s nationwide hui, saying it’s an event for Māoridom to come together and “not a political event, per se”. Māori development minister Tama Potaka and National MP Dan Bidois will attend, but no representatives from Act and NZ First will be there. Te hui aa motu, the national unity hui, was called by the Māori King last month to discuss concerns about the new government’s plans, in particular their impact on Māori. While the invitation to the hui, which is being held at Tuurangawaewae marae, Ngaaruawaahia, was addressed to “te iwi Maaori,” te Kiingitanga has extended the invitation to all New Zealanders of any ethnicity. At least 3,000 attendees are expected, writes The Spinoff’s Tommy de Silva in his handy explainer on the event.

What's behind New Zealand's water woes?

Aotearoa New Zealand is a rich and functional country, but it can’t seem to operate a safe and well-maintained water system. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, CEO of Water NZ Gillian Blythe tells Bernard Hickey exactly why that is, and what's needed to get our water infrastructure back on track.

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Click and Collect

• Housing minister Chris Bishop wants action from Kāinga Ora over the number of state houses – including many newly built homes – that are sitting vacant for extended periods.

• The opening of a new ‘modern learning environment’-friendly school in Golden Bay has reignited the debate over whether the concept really helps kids learn better.

• Woolworths is scrapping its ‘scan and go’ system

• Westpac is reducing its interest rates on two home loan terms – but only by a few basis points.

• Why does Auckland’s Point Chev look “a bit crap”?

  Feeling clever? Click here to play 1Q, Aotearoa’s newest, shortest daily quiz.

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Mad Chapman presents her weirdest ranking yet: email signoffs, from worst to best. Longtime Wellington Phoenix fanatic Joe Harper has a guide for new fans of the triumphant men’s team. Alex Casey pens a heartfelt ode to weird bach DVD collections. Eleanor Cooper moves out of a house and onto a boat, and finds it's a mostly successful cure for suburban malaise. Hera Lindsay Bird advises a reader who wants to know what true romantic love feels like.

Sporting snippets

• The ICC has unveiled the “cutting-edge” New York stadium where eight of this year's T20 World Cup matches – including the blockbuster India vs Pakistan game – will be played.

• Emma Raducanu said she was “throwing up in [her] mouth” as she battled an apparent stomach bug during her match against China’s Yafan Wang at the Australian Open yesterday. Raducanu lost to Wang 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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