Matt Lowrie 
Plans for a modern, efficient light rail network have taken an unexpected detour. Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie recounts the brief history of how we got here, and how there may still be light at the end of the tunnel. The good news is we’re not going to be sending billions of dollars offshore to … Read more
We’ve known for a long time that there are significant issues with public-private partnerships, but the pandemic has highlighted just how risky they are, writes Matt Lowrie. This is an edited version of a story originally published on Greater Auckland. Covid-19 has dealt the massive Transmission Gully project another blow with announcement that the lockdown … Read more
Auckland Transport’s plans for the Queens Wharf ferry terminal include a wide bus lane designed to serve cruise ship passengers on the wharf’s eastern side – effectively closing the wharf to the general public over the busy summer months, writes Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland. “Today, Queens Wharf becomes the public’s wharf,” said then Auckland … Read more
The City Rail Link could have been an opportunity to rejuvenate one of Auckland’s most unlovely thoroughfares. Instead, Albert St seems likely to end up looking worse than before, writes Matt Lowrie of the urban design blog Greater Auckland. Last week in the Herald Simon Wilson lamented the mess that has been made of Albert … Read more
Matt Lowrie thinks and writes about transport in Auckland a lot. Here the Greater Auckland director describes a daily commute that takes him from West Auckland to Takapuna, and looks to the direction of travel for public transport in NZ’s biggest city. As Auckland continues to grow and options for getting around the city without … Read more
The new government yesterday announced its blueprint for an overhaul of transport funding in New Zealand. Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland delivers his verdict. I couldn’t help but think of Joe Biden’s phrase “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value” following the release yesterday of … Read more
Yesterday Auckland Transport released a draft budget with massive cuts to previously stated public transport priorities including cycling and light rail. Then last night transport minister Phil Twyford said it was all a cock-up. So what happened? Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland reviews. You’re a public agency tasked with coming up with a 10-year transport … Read more
Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie looks at the hidden benefits of rail outlined in a 2016 NZTA report released just this week, which transport minister Phil Tywford says was intentionally sat on by the previous government. For the last few decades, we’ve treated rail in New Zealand quite differently to the way we treat roads. Rail has been considered … Read more
There are few areas of government policy in which the gap between National and Labour was as stark as in transport. We republish Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie on the likely priorities of the incoming government. When Winston Peters announced he’d chosen a coalition with Labour to form a new government on Thursday much of the … Read more
Auckland’s rail services are now carrying 20 million people a year. That’s double the number just four years ago and we’ve reached the milestone three years faster than the planners expected. Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland looks back at how the city’s commuter train travel was saved from extinction. This story was first published in … Read more
A near-flat six-minute walk from the east end of Victoria St all the way to Stanley St? Walking, or biking, through tunnels under Albert Park, with lifts up to the universities. It could happen, writes Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie. Auckland’s hills help to define our city. Sometimes they’re a blessing, sometimes they can be a bit … Read more
It’s a good time to become mayor of Auckland, but there’s a huge challenge ahead. Matt Lowrie of Transport Blog offers some constructive advice for Phil Goff’s early mayoralty. Dear Phil, Congratulations on becoming Mayor. While the margin was a bit closer than some had expected, that’s what happens when you get such a low … Read more
Right on the heels of the Unitary Plan, the Auckland Transport Alignment Project report is published tomorrow, and it, too, is absolutely critical for the city. Transport Blog guru-in-chief Matt Lowrie explains what ATAP is all about and why it matters. Even before Len Brown was elected mayor in 2010 on the back of promises … Read more
The government’s change of heart on charging for use of Auckland roads at last releases the handbrake on planning for the region’s transport future, writes Matt Lowrie. Auckland’s transport problems are pretty well known, even to those outside the city. They are the result of a toxic mix: decades of political bickering, poor decision making … Read more
Opinion: The government wants more electric vehicles on NZ roads. But the plan to let them drive in bus lanes can only throw improvements in bus services into reverse, writes Matt Lowrie. The government wants to boost the currently dismal uptake of electric vehicles, increasing the numbers on our roads from about 1,200 to 64,000 … Read more