Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the OECD, with 83 percent of travel time spent in cars. With the population in cities set to increase by almost one million by 2048, it is rapidly becoming unviable for cars to be used as the main mode of urban transport.
Our current, car-dominated transport system limits mobility and opportunities for thousands of people and accounts for about 43 per cent of domestic carbon emissions. It also kills or injures thousands of people each year, undermines public health, creates harmful air and noise pollution, and is detrimental to our collective mental wellbeing.
Sweeping changes to Aotearoa New Zealand’s transport system are needed if the country is to have any hope of meeting its net zero target.
To transition to a transport system in which everyone – regardless of income, ethnicity, disability, or gender – can get where they need to go in ways that protect the climate and promote wellbeing, transport policy and investment needs to focus on two things:
- Making the transport system work better for those who are currently disadvantaged; and
- Reducing our collective dependence on cars as our main form of urban transport.
Te Ara Matatika The Fair Path, the latest report from WSP and The Helen Clark Foundation, finds that investing in more equitable public transport and reducing New Zealanders’ collective dependence on cars will help kick-start this necessary transition.
The report suggests several bold interventions, including reprogramming the transport system around the twin goals of reducing car dependence and improving equity.
