**Press Release**\u00a0– The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA)\u00a0 completely agrees with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown that it is time to change Auckland Transport into a fully publicly accountable organisation and stripped of policy making and strategy functions.<\/p>\n
From experience the PTUA believes Auckland Transport is a self-serving, arrogant organisation and has no interest in delivering what the communities of Auckland want.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Trains to Huapai campaign is a classic example of AT digging in with no interest to expand the commuter services\u201d said Jon Reeves, PTUA National Coordinator. AT pretended to listen to the West Auckland community, engaged consultants but refused requests from the PTUA to talk with the consultants, then produced extremely over inflated project costings and ignored our advice on practical industry standard solutions to reduce those costs. <\/p>\n
AT gold plated everything to ensure the costs would appear far to high to run commuter trains to the growing
\nNor West Auckland area. \u201cAT continues with these absolutely over-the-top costings to stop Trains To Huapai to this day\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n
AT\u2019s own Trust and Confidence Reputation Update shows in March 2024 just 28% of Aucklanders trust AT to make the right decisions. \u201cThat speaks for itself \u2013 Aucklanders simply do not trust the faceless bureaucrats who are not answerable to the community it supposedly serves\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n
The PTUA has publicly argued for years that AT, as created by ACT\u2019s Rodney Hyde in the late 2000\u2019s, was never fit for purpose. Every other region in New Zealand has a Regional Transport Committee which is fully accountable to local ratepayers and voters. Not in the case of Auckland where \u201cthe untouchables\u201d manage and mismanage Auckland\u2019s transport needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want the coalition government to rectify the mess created by Rodney Hyde, give Auckland Council, Councillors and ultimately ratepayers the power to decide what and how transport is delivered in the region. AT\u2019s time is up. <\/p>\n
AT is a dead duck that never served the people and ratepayers with the respect they are owed and forgets they pay their bills!\u201d Jon Reeves said.<\/p>\n
*Press release dated 9 August 2024. Authorized by Niall Robertson Chair, Public Transport Users Association (PTUA)*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Press Release\u00a0– The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA)\u00a0 completely agrees with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown that it is time to change Auckland Transport in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t