Wellington public transport has set a lot of records this council term. In a good way. Busiest ever day on public transport, busiest month, busiest 12 months, longest period of reliability over 99%, most kilometres of bus priority added in a council term, etc.
That’s not to say we are where we need to be. There’s a lot still to be done, especially on rail. But as we wrap up this term, we leave things better than they were three years ago. Our final Transport Committee meeting this week offers a chance to look at what we’ve achieved and what’s still on the to do list. \
\
Regional passenger rail in New Zealand took a major step forward when the council signed a contract with Alstom for 18 five-car battery electric trains. The new Tūhono trains will quadruple services to Palmerston North and double services to Masterton from 2030.
