Building communities in our most connected places makes sense, but often seems harder than it should be. So I’ve been working on a research project for Massey University documenting new or improved communities built up around public transport hubs in the UK - transit-oriented developments. 1/

It's not a coincidence that our bus patronage numbers are hitting all time highs. This term we've delivered more bus lanes than the seven previous councils combined

Big moment this morning to help sign the contract with Alstom for 18 new five-car trains to serve people in the lower North Island from 2029. This will allow us to quadruple rail services to Palmerston North, double services to Masterton and open up for more development around railway stations. 1/

Bringing bus depots in the Wellington region under public control is already helping attract interest from a range of bus companies looking to operate buses for Metlink. Public ownership of critical assets can help secure public services, drive competition and get a better deal for the public.

We just had the busiest July on record for Wellington’s Metlink bus network, with 2,326,413 bus passenger trips. This is driven by our reliability being steadily over 99% across the network. Once the government brings its rail tracks up to standard, rail patronage will see the same increase.

Our annual public transport satisfaction survey is out, with bus network satisfaction and bus patronage at record highs, as a result of record high reliability. Satisfaction with rail is down, with the state of the government’s ageing rail assets driving lower reliability and lower patronage. 1/

Stopping people from being able to update their electoral details on the spot just further disenfranchises voters who move often (renters, seasonal workers etc.). A bad move that’ll only harm people’s democratic right to vote www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

For local government nerds - if you haven't seen Policy for Public Good from WEALL, it's a really, really great document that summarises so many great ideas for local government. This is the kind of stuff I wish was platformed more. www.weall.org.nz/local-govt

Back in Pōneke after a fab few days in Ōtautahi/Christchurch for LGNZ. It was great to connect with other local government leaders from across the motu, discussing the obstacles we face and asking what kind of future we want to create. Here are my takeaways:

in what will be remembered as an innovative and possibly foolhardy move, I have tried to include numbers and even a graph in this piece of commentary about local government rates

In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City.

This new Harbour Quays bus route is big. Speeding up bus trips through the city makes daily life better for people, gets more bus frequency for the same cost and services more destinations. I hope the government will reconsider its decision not to help fund this very high value infrastructure.

As we head into Matariki, I was reminded how important the arts are to Wellington's cultural and economic wellbeing. It's super important we support creatives - you can read more about this in my op-ed! www.thepost.co.nz/culture/3607...

Wellington needs council candidates to focus on serious, affordable, high value for money projects they can actually deliver. Bus lanes, especially on the Harbour Quays, are a good example. Saving 10 mins for each of the 70,000 bus trips people take each day through the city is a very big deal. 1/

Your Wellington Greens are committing to delivering a faster and more efficient bus network with bus lanes, stop improvements, and priority lights all the way from Seatoun to the Railway station

The only thing standing in the way of real change...is a few car parks. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Study on London 20 mph limits shows: - collisions ⬇️ 35% - casualties ⬇️ 36% - fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34% - child casualties ⬇️ 46% - child deaths ⬇️ 75% - walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28% etsc.eu/20mph-limits...

I can’t wait until we unlock the potential of PT for Saturday morning sport. It’s time for our transport networks to break out of 20th century patterns of work and play

The increase in Wellington’s weekend bus use is remarkable. Saturday is up 31% from 2019. Sunday is up 45%. In this period we increased our off peak discount and boosted off peak frequency, reducing drivers’ inconvenient split shifts. Still loads of untapped potential for off peak travel I reckon.

Very good to have more support for the Regional Council’s existing policy on fare capping. If central government’s ticketing project is delayed any further we should look to deliver this in Wellington now, as Auckland has already done. For now we need the city council to finish the bus lanes job. 1/

Our regional council has already approved fare capping, integrated ticketing and debit card payment - this isn’t new PT policy. It’s just that we’re at the behest of the govts national ticketing system. Wellington deserves what Auckland PT users already have. We shouldn’t have to wait longer

"The Government knows there’s nothing similar between household borrowing and government borrowing. But it also knows that you don’t know that. (Because no one ever explains this properly.) So why use this metaphor if it’s so misleading?" www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Turns out objections to Te Reo signage was never about legibility or safety .... Distracting, unreadable and dangerous signage on the right coming to over 150 school communities across Auckland to replace the sign on the left.

that infrastructure commission report that said we’re rapidly running down our *pre-war* infrastructure is one of those clarifying moments: politicians should probably be falling over themselves to address this etc

Some thoughts on the newly announced maintenance and renewal funding for the government’s rail assets. This new funding needs to be part of a wider shift towards a new and fit for purpose rail model in New Zealand that properly recognises the full value of rail for our cities and our economy.

This new $143m covers the next two years of maintenance and renewals of the Crown’s rail assets. Having two years of certainty should help lift some of the speed restrictions KiwiRail has put on the network due to the state of its assets while giving rail partners time to agree a new funding model.

Our bus lanes have cut travel times by a third between Newtown and Courtenay Place, yet candidates are hesitant to support more of them. Bus lanes have been transformational for the city and you won’t catch me hesitating to back building more! www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

Wellington has doubled the length of bus lanes and bus priority over this council term. One result is afternoon peak travel times from Newtown to Courtenay Pl are a third faster. But the full benefits of these bus lane time savings rely on doing the Golden Mile and Harbour Quays projects ASAP. 1/

more bus lanes = more efficient bus trips = more people willing to use buses = less people driving on the roads = roads are less clogged up = people who have to drive can do it easier/quicker I don't get how this is so hard

Serious candidates in Wellington’s upcoming elections will focus squarely on improving people’s everyday material needs. This means committing to the current council’s delivery of a more reliable supply of clean water, quicker bus trips and more homes to help more people put down roots here. 1/

The government noted advice this week that “for every $40 spent on new infrastructure, we should be investing $60 in maintenance and renewals.” This is encouraging. The government’s current transport investment plans are fiscally very high risk and need very close public scrutiny against this ratio.

#TrainNews: A Green Party policy for a passenger train between Auckland and Tauranga is a “no-brainer” commuters say, as a “cheaper, safer and faster” alternative to the worst traffic in the country and soaring airfares. Via Stuff: www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

#TransportNews: A new strategy that aligns public transport improvements with urban development is a key feature of the Regional Public Transport Plan 2025-35, recommended by the Greater Wellington Transport Committee.

This is a map of the temporary speed restrictions on Wellington’s rail network. Restrictions stem from the government’s rail assets being way, way overdue for renewals. It’s like leaving potholes on State Highways for years and telling drivers to slow down driving past them. Maintain your assets!

Part of what really disturbs me about the sudden end of pay equity is the democratic implications - National did not say before the election that they would do this. It is now being passed under urgency, the same day as announcement, with no public input. NZers quite simply have not had a say.

Politics has become an ugly place, with double standards for women, Māori and our rainbow community. It’s crucial to have discussions about the online criticism directed at women and gay politicians and I’m really looking forward to using my platform to find positive solutions. #nzpol

It’s still early days of the new District Plan but it’s good to see that Wellingtons consents are recovering faster than the rest of NZ. In Q1 we have consented 39% of what we did in all of 2024 (NZ has consented 23% of its 2024 number in Q1)

Wellington, we have more weather updates for you. We will be experiencing road closures at the following locations for clean up operations: Fulton Hogan will focus on arterial roads first, Owhiro Bay Parade and The Esplanade, then Moa Point / Breaker Bay.

Stoked to be endorsed to run for Greater Wellington Regional Council alongside the wonderful Yadana Saw and to campaign for a more livable, low carbon and climate-resiliant city. Greens on council = more homes, faster/reliable buses and trains, clean drinking water, & restoring our ngahere 🌳💧🚊🚎🏘

Large fenced sanctuaries work! We need to get on with building more of them ASAP. In decades to come, we’ll look back on decisions to set up new large fenced sanctuaries as crucially important moves. The Wainuiomata proposal is ready to go with even more productive native forest than Maungatautari!

This is good and well, but what I’d really like to know is how we’re going to address the behaviour. Are we going to challenge social media companies to play their part? Will we look at hate speech legislation? Education? The onus shouldn’t be on those getting abused. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

What is really baffling here is that one of Andrew Little’s most prominent commitments so far is to “make public transport cheaper” and while that is actually impossible for him to do (wrong council), what he could deliver is more bus improvements, including the long overdue ones on the Golden Mile!

Just getting the airport bus into town and it is 1 minute faster than the trip by car. This is possible mainly because of the dedicated bus tunnel through Mt Victoria and we can shave even more time off this and other bus trips by implementing our proposed bus priority improvements to the east.

Very pleased to have this new increased capacity on the 83 bus route between Wellington and Eastbourne, which is very busy on weekends. We certainly heard the calls for this from bus passengers and I’m glad we have been able to respond.

Tory Whanau has delivered record investment in water infrastructure, freed up record amounts of space for new homes in the inner city and installed a record number of bus and bike improvements. In all these areas Tory has delivered more than any Wellington mayor in recent history, possibly ever. 1/

I'm running! With our city (and world) the way it is, there's a need for constructive, pragmatic people at the table. If I'm lucky enough to receive the Greens nomination, I'll be asking for your help - for housing, infrastructure, for a Wellington where everyone can thrive.

We’re proud of our record as Greens in Wellington over the last few years. It’s been too fast for some (too slow for others) and we know we can’t always expect fair, balanced and accurate reporting. So you can check out the facts for yourself here and tell us what you think: www.capitalworks.nz.

Traffic management is one of those services that is critical to our city. It allows people to carry on moving safely around while major projects are being done. It should be core business for councils and finding a way to bring it in house, eg via a CCO, is exactly the kind of improvement we need.

Brilliant news that the courts have upheld Councillors’ decision to free up space for new homes in Wellington’s wealthy inner city suburbs. Defeating this legal challenge allows the council to get on with its work to get more housing built, bring down costs and welcome more people to the city.