A six-minute history of transport in Auckland

I was recently reminded of this piece and decided it’s good enough to repost. It’s one of the first articles I ever wrote about transport, and it still seems to hold true thirteen years later.

Transport infrastructure and the policy behind it have been the main factors influencing the shape and form of Auckland since its inception. Auckland was originally founded as a port town on the strength of the deep all-weather anchorages available in the Waitemata Harbour. All the capital, goods, resources, and colonists of the young settlement flowed in and out of this harbour. As the town grew outward from the activity at the docks at the foot of Queen St, development was clustered in a tight band around the Queen St valley within walking distance of the waterfront. This was neither really choice nor accident as walking was the only form of transport available to the vast majority of early Aucklanders.

As the region prospered and the population swelled the town soon outgrew the amount of land available in the small walkable central area. While this did create demand for taller buildings in the Queen St valley, they primary solution to growth was the construction of transport infrastructure to access land further out. Some of the earliest suburbs of Auckland were waterside settlements connected to the Queen St valley by ferries crossing the sheltered harbour. At this time roads were unpaved, and the going was tough on foot and cartwheel alike. Tram rails set in the roadway provided an answer to land-based expansion, allowing speedy comfortable access along the main roads radiating out from the town centre. Wide ribbons of residential and commercial development sprung up along the tram routes which eventually extended their way right across the Auckland Isthmus.

Parnell Rise, once a dirt lane with a tramway, now a four lane traffic road.

Throughout the same period railways were extended south and north-west from the town of Auckland to provide reliable connections to the rest of the country, yet this infrastructure also allowed the development of satellite suburbs within the Auckland region. The characteristic shape of Auckland focused on the central isthmus and stretching to the south and northwest was founded by these early rail-based transport arteries.

As Auckland matured into a thriving city it was very much a product of its public transport links. The dense walkable core stretched out along the tramways covering the isthmus, while outer suburbs and towns were dotted along the railways and ferry wharves. This was the case for the first part of the twentieth century, however as the century progressed there was a pronounced shift away from rail transport as policy decisions began to favour automobile and road-based transport. The private car was seen as the means to provide mobility and freedom to the masses, and as the car shifted from being a rich-man’s plaything to a consumer product transport policy shifted to an almost exclusive road focus. Starting in the 1930s plans were progressed for a series of motorways covering the region to provide fast and convenient access to all corners of Auckland. Around the same time Auckland’s central railway station was shifted from the Queen St waterfront to a more isolated location on the edge of the CBD.

Various plans were drawn to revitalise the railways through line extensions and tunnels under the CBD, however these were consistently passed over in favour of accelerating motorway construction through the central city. The motorways were seen as a killing two birds with one stone, not only could they provide great capacity for private cars and trucks they could also support public transport through a system of express buses. Soon enough the growth of car ownership and the ongoing expansion of road infrastructure was severely affecting rail patronage. Following World War II the tramways of the isthmus were progressively removed. Faced with a huge backlog of deferred wartime track maintenance, old unreliable trams, and discontent among the growing ranks of car drivers, it was decided to replace the ageing tram system with a fleet of new buses sharing the streets with cars.

By the 1960s the removal of the tram system was complete, while railways and ferries had been reduced to a small niche role. The transport and land use pattern of the next four decades was thus firmly established by choices in transport policy: Auckland’s transport system was to be based almost exclusively on private cars and trucks running on an expanded system of roads and motorways, while a limited bus service would be maintained to service peak commuters to the CBD and to provide a basic welfare service for anyone unable to have access to a car. The central government provided tax funds for ongoing road and highway expansions, maintained a low price of imported fuel and removed tariffs on importing new cars and quality restrictions on second hand cars from abroad. Meanwhile the crippled and neglected bus system was privatised, private companies were offered a windfall of commercial profits on a few highly patronised city commuter routes while given subsidies to stop the rest of the network from disappearing completely.

In the latter half of the twentieth century the shape and form of Auckland followed the accessibility provided by the new automobility. Land within and around the old tram and railway suburbs was filled in with low density housing as people were no longer limited to living within walking distance of a rail station or tram stop. For the same reasons industry shifted from a ring around the inner city and along the rail corridors to diverse locations further out, and the relative importance of the Queen St valley declined as commerce and retailing were no longer restricted to downtown. Later the fringes of the urban area began to be rapidly expanded, as new housing subdivisions and industrial estates were built on huge tracts of previously inaccessible land. With the horrors of urban living during industrial revolution a not-so-distant memory, strict zoning regulations were impacted to limit density and provide a strict separation between homes, factories and other urban activates.

For a while it seemed Auckland had got it right, but soon enough the pitfalls of mass auto mobility became apparent. With almost one car per adult in the city and limited alternatives to driving, traffic congestion became rife as the act of travelling became synonymous with driving a car. Projects were continually progressed to widen roads and extend motorways, yet for all their increasing expense they could barely keep pace with congestion let alone decrease it. Providing sufficient parking became a constant problem, initially downtown then throughout the city. Roadside parking vied for room with driving lanes, while in town centres vast open lots and multi-story parking buildings occupied valuable real-estate. High parking fees were charged to pay for this land and structures, and steep fines issued to prevent their misuse. Walking and cycling as means of transport had become virtually extinct. The focus on the automobile had made roadways dangerous and inaccessible outside of a car while suburban expansion meant that most places of interest were far too far way even if one did brave the roads by foot or pedal.

Many new suburbs were built without even a simple footpath up the side of the street, as no one was expected to walk anywhere and there was nothing to walk to anyway. Smog and air pollution had become an issue, however this was mercifully kept in check by the strong ocean breezes clearing the isthmus. There was no such natural mitigation of the fuel price issue however, as the total reliance on imported fuel left the city’s transport system at the mercy of international geo-politics. As congestion and fuel cost increased and journey times continued to expand, the simple act of getting to one’s workplace each day was consuming an increasing amount of the region’s time and wealth.

By the end of the twentieth century Auckland had achieved exactly what it had been planning and building for the previous fifty years: a transport system of near-universal automobility at the expense of any other mode. A city where people generally had no choice but to drive any time they wanted to travel anywhere, for any reason. A city where being economically productive and having quality of life meant getting a driver’s licence and having access to a car, or if that was not possible, having someone else drive one where they needed to go. A city where traffic congestion, parking problems and high travel costs were an unavoidable fact of life.

At the cusp of the twenty-first century voices within the government and populace of Auckland had begun to question this policy, arguing that investment in rehabilitation the railways and expanding other public transport infrastructure would be an efficient and cost-effective way to reduce congestion and meet further travel growth in the growing metropolis. It was argued that with near universal automobility in the congested city, any attempt to supply new road infrastructure would be rapidly swamped by the huge demand for car travel that already existed. Therefore, the only real choice would be a transport policy focused on providing alternatives to private road transport. This view was naturally rejected by the establishment, as it went against half a century of establish policy and practice. The public, politicians and industry alike were so invested in private road transport that it was almost inconceivable to do anything else.

The very structure of transport politics and economics revolved around buying cars and building roads, successfully running buses, trains and ferries and building the city around them was a long lost memory. Many suggestions were made why public transport could never work again in Auckland: the land was the wrong shape, the city too spread, that the people were somehow involved in a ‘love affair’ with cars and the costs and congestion that came with them. Yet small gains have been made: Auckland’s station was moved back to the CBD, trains and tracks were refurbished, ferries upgraded and bus infrastructure built. Indeed, wherever improvements in alternatives to driving were made, people flocked to the alternative.

Yet many reasons continue to be put forward as to why Auckland is necessarily so car focused, yet few seemed willing to acknowledge the only real reason: Policy. Auckland was once a public transport city, and it actively decided to become a private transport city. For fifty years its leaders pursued that agenda, and they have shown little sign of moving away from it. Auckland is at the crossroads, recent investment has shown public transport to be not only viable but highly effective and the city now has a critical choice to make. The question is now how exactly should Auckland spend the huge amounts of money it sets aside each year for transport? Should it maintain the seemingly failed policy of the last half century, or should it radically revolutionise the transport agenda in Auckland?