Our purpose and strategy

We are responsible for the level of safety across every aspect of our network and everyone who moves through it.

This is why we have adopted the principles of Vision Zero, an ethics-based approach to transport safety.

Vision Zero acknowledges that a safe transport system is built for human beings, that people make mistakes and are vulnerable to high-impact forces in the event of a crash. To keep people safe – and to ensure they feel safe - we need to look at how the whole system works together to protect all those who use our roads.

It can never be acceptable to us that people are killed or seriously injured when using our transport network, even when mistakes happen.

Achieving Vision Zero requires us to put safety at the heart of everything we do. We will:

• Prioritise budget for dedicated safety projects.
• Put safety at the heart of how we evaluate potential transport investments and design and deliver new or upgraded infrastructure.
• Ensure that the safety of vulnerable road users, such as people walking or cycling, is always prioritised when making decisions.
• Make necessary regulatory changes to promote safety.
• Ensure that safety and accessibility for people of all ages or ability is central to the design of transport. infrastructure, as described on the Universal Design website.
• Seek to improve travel behaviour by placing greater emphasis on enforcement, and through public awareness campaigns.
• Upgrade rural roads to improve safety.

We need to make the best possible use of our existing network and road spaces as our city continues to grow.

While we will continue to invest in new infrastructure, it is our existing transport corridors that will need to accommodate much of the increase in travel as Auckland's population grows.

Trying to build our way out of congestion is not an option. Making the better and smarter use of our existing roads, rail, footpaths, cycle ways and ferries has to be part of the solution.

This approach will include:

• Prioritising the use of more efficient modes of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport.
• Increased investment into network optimisation initiatives that deliver significant improvements through small-scale interventions, such as dynamic lanes, bus transponders intersection upgrades and road space repurposing.
• Delivering next generation customer technology including for ticketing and payments.
• Developing and implementing demand-based solutions to manage congestion, including progressively shifting to smarter transport pricing to use existing roads and public transport services efficiently and optimally.
• As part of our capital programme, prioritising projects that better leverage our existing assets.
• A coordinated approach to freight planning.
• Continuing to improve the way Auckland's existing transport assets are maintained, and renewed, including better co-ordinating planned maintenance with improvements. Find out more about Auckland Transport Asset Management.

We need to ensure resilience is built into our system at every level.

We already face significant challenges from the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and we know that the severity of these will only increase in the coming decades.

We also face significant risks and challenges in the short term that we need to better prepared for, including disruptions from accidents or damage on the network; shock events like pandemics and continuing social, economic and technological change.

We can respond to these challenges and build greater resilience into the system by:

• Playing our part in minimising the negative impacts of climate change by working with central government and our partners to deliver the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (TERP).
• Preparing our transport system for the impacts of climate change through more resilient infrastructure and greater resilience and flexibility in the overall system, particularly in areas where disruption would have widespread and significant impacts.
• Committing to equity and fairness in how we respond to the climate emergency, recognising that climate change will have greater impacts on those users of the transport that are most vulnerable.
• Minimising our impact on the natural environment and human health by reducing harmful pollutants that enter our waterways and atmosphere, and committing to reversing environmental degradation as part of how we deliver new infrastructure and services.

Among the key actions we are currently taking to ensure a more resilient and sustainable transport system are:

• Procuring only zero emissions buses.
• Expanding the frequent transit network.
• Progressing the decarbonisation of the ferry fleet.
• Delivering investments from the climate change transport targeted rate to improve public transport, walking and cycling.
• Preparing to take over operation of the city rail link to move 54,000 Aucklanders an hour.

The most critical component to delivering the transport experience Aucklanders and visitors need is a public transport system that people value and want to use.

The identity and success of many of the world’s great cities are profoundly shaped by the quality and reliability of their public transport systems. Aucklanders deserve a public transport system they can be proud of.

To achieve this we need a public transport system that:

• Is available when and where people need it
• Ensures buses, trains and ferries turn up when they are expected
• Gets people where they need to be quickly
• Offers easy interchanges
• Is pleasant to use

This is an ambitious goal that we will need to progressively deliver over the next ten years.

Our first milestone is December 2024, by which time we need to have delivered:

• Easier payment systems
• Rebuilding to pre-Covid service levels, including reinstating drivers and bringing back bus routes

The second milestone is by end of 2027, when we need to be well underway with leveraging the big current investments in our public transport system:

• Eastern Busway – stages 2-4
• City Rail Link
• Penlink
• Additional capacity on the Southern Line
• Electrification to Pukekohe
• New stations between Papakura and Pukekohe

Alongside this we need to deliver:

• 13 new frequent transit routes
• Improved bus priority and bus lanes
• Next generation technology to enhance customer experience

To meet the needs of our growing city, and play our part in cutting emissions, we will need to move towards a fully integrated transport system that offers Aucklanders and visitors travel choices that meet a range of needs.

Reducing congestion and emissions will, however, only be possible if more Aucklanders have the choice to walk, cycle and use public transport, and it becomes a desirable option for many.

To achieve this, we will need to offer people a connected transport system that includes:

• Reliable public transport that delivers value for money and a great experience for customers
• As part of this - a rapid transit network that provides fast, frequent and reliable travel across Auckland, running along dedicated corridors, as well as frequent, connector, and local services, often running in dedicated bus or transit lanes
• Safe and connected walking and cycling networks allow people to make trips using active modes of transport, connecting to public transport options implementing the universal design approach and embedding accessibility into all parts of the journey, to make it easier for people of any age and ability to move around.

Rural areas may require a different approach due to their dispersed development patterns and long trip distances.