NEW POLL: Majority want Auckland Transport made directly accountable to Auckland Council

An Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance–Curia poll shows 59 percent of respondents want Auckland Transport to be made directly accountable to Auckland’s mayor and councillors.  Only 25 percent think it should make its own decisions, and 16 percent were unsure.
 
Respondents were asked: “Unlike in other parts of New Zealand, Auckland Council does not have direct oversight of Auckland Transport or responsibility for setting the Regional Land Transport Plan that decides on transport infrastructure projects.  In Auckland, this is done by the separate Auckland Transport body.  Do you think the Auckland Transport should be made directly accountable to the mayor and councillors on Auckland Council or make its own decisions?”
 
The full polling report can be found here: https://www.ratepayers.nz/at_poll
 
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:
 
“The current model has been a disaster.  Operating with independence from Auckland Council looks good on paper, but certainly not in practice.
 
“Auckland Transport has instead become its own bureaucracy captured by ideology and largely detached from accountability to elected officials, and ultimately, Auckland ratepayers.
 
“The outcome has been a barrage of excessively expensive pet projects that are neither practical, nor wanted, by the majority of Aucklanders simply wanting a reliable transport network without all the spin.
 
“A rethink into how Auckland Transport works is well overdue.  Unlike every other council in New Zealand, Auckland Council does not have direct oversight over its own transport provider, nor in setting the Regional Land Transport Plan that decides on transport infrastructure projects."