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Reposted by Thomas Nash

Geordie Rogers @geordierogers.co.nz · 28d

It's not a coincidence that our bus patronage numbers are hitting all time highs. This term we've delivered more bus lanes than the seven previous councils combined

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 7

Very grateful to the Greater Wellington staff who led this procurement and to Horizons Regional Council and the other partner organisations and legal / technical advisors. The support of various Ministers over the years, including current Transport Minister Chris Bishop, has been critical. 4/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yeah same - my family in Palmy too and this will be absolutely brilliant for day trips and also more flexible overnight trips. So good!

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 7

The new trains, named Tūhono for their role in connecting and uniting people in the lower North Island, will be the first battery electric trains in the Southern Hemisphere. Alstom will also support local jobs and local business and help develop capacity for NZ’s rail industry. 3/

Artist’s impression of the new Tūhono train for the lower North Island to be manufactured by Alstom.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 7

There’s a bright future for passenger rail in NZ and, once we get past some of the unfortunate preconceived ideas about road vs rail and allow reason and economics do the talking, we will be able to offer more and better transport options for people that greatly improve their everyday lives. 2/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 7

Big moment this morning to help sign the contract with Alstom for 18 new five-car trains to serve people in the lower North Island from 2029. This will allow us to quadruple rail services to Palmerston North, double services to Masterton and open up for more development around railway stations. 1/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 6

Precisely - we need to keep pointing out that anybody who promotes residential development that expands linear infrastructure ahead of residential development that uses existing infrastructure is actively putting upwards pressure on council rates.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 5

Yes, it’s very simple and just as politicians like to ask their opponents “how are you going to pay for it?” the same question needs to be answered by politicians calling for more sprawling residential developments where the cost of infrastructure per dwelling is so much higher than the alternative.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Sep 2

Bringing bus depots in the Wellington region under public control is already helping attract interest from a range of bus companies looking to operate buses for Metlink. Public ownership of critical assets can help secure public services, drive competition and get a better deal for the public.

Fresh contenders line up for bus contracts

With Wellington’s next round of bus contracts less than a year from being put to tender, the competition is already heating up. Alongside the four current operators, another four “serious” new players...

www.thepost.co.nz

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 15

We can only do that if the government owned rail tracks are open for us to run trains on.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 15

We just had the busiest July on record for Wellington’s Metlink bus network, with 2,326,413 bus passenger trips. This is driven by our reliability being steadily over 99% across the network. Once the government brings its rail tracks up to standard, rail patronage will see the same increase.

Graph showing July monthly bus passenger trips in the Wellington region from 2019-2025.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

You can’t vote for me because I’m not standing again and also I don’t live in Wairarapa (if that’s where you live). Nobody has done more to advocate for fixing the Wairarapa line than current councillor Adrienne Staples, who is very much worthy of votes and campaign support in Wairarapa.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

Here is the most detailed recent update with quite a lot of facts about the situation. We (Metlink, which is the Regional Council) asked Transdev (the company that operates the trains and employs train staff) to prepare this plan. This was an unacceptable failure of workforce planning in our view.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

Expecting some news on this in the next few weeks. Things tracking well and obviously significant purchase with lots of elements including KiwiRail upgrades, so plenty of scrutiny and due diligence being applied.

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

Here’s a write up of the survey from Ellen O’Dwyer at RNZ. We want to deliver top notch service in the AM and PM peaks. We’d like to do more, but nailing the peaks is achievable, so that’s our focus: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa.... 5/

Wellington train satisfaction falls, record-high bus passengers

Metlink says bus services have been more than 99 percent reliable this year.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

We have a lot of work to do on the Metlink side too, as the public transport authority. In particular providing much better bus replacement services (we now have a detailed plan in place for this), continually improving our operational communications and ensuring strong workforce planning. 4/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

We do need to improve asset management for rail in NZ. Decades of imbalanced transport investment favouring gold plated motorways over basic passenger rail means results take time to flow through, but rail users should expect more from the major public investment in recent years. 3/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

Once the government brings its tracks up to a standard that will allow us as the public transport agency to run punctual, reliable passenger rail services, patronage will go up, just like it has with buses, and everyone will benefit, including drivers enjoying fewer cars on the road. 2/

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Aug 11

Our annual public transport satisfaction survey is out, with bus network satisfaction and bus patronage at record highs, as a result of record high reliability. Satisfaction with rail is down, with the state of the government’s ageing rail assets driving lower reliability and lower patronage. 1/

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Reposted by Thomas Nash

Geordie Rogers @geordierogers.co.nz · Jul 24

Stopping people from being able to update their electoral details on the spot just further disenfranchises voters who move often (renters, seasonal workers etc.). A bad move that’ll only harm people’s democratic right to vote www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

No more enrolling on voting day, new offence for handing out treats

The Government has overhauled New Zealand’s electoral law, including closing enrolment before advance voting begins.

www.thepost.co.nz

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Reposted by Thomas Nash

Louise Hutt @saycheeselouise.bsky.social · Jul 23

For local government nerds - if you haven't seen Policy for Public Good from WEALL, it's a really, really great document that summarises so many great ideas for local government. This is the kind of stuff I wish was platformed more. www.weall.org.nz/local-govt

Local Govt — WEAll Aotearoa - Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa NZ

www.weall.org.nz

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Reposted by Thomas Nash

Tory Whanau @misswhanau.bsky.social · Jul 18

Back in Pōneke after a fab few days in Ōtautahi/Christchurch for LGNZ. It was great to connect with other local government leaders from across the motu, discussing the obstacles we face and asking what kind of future we want to create. Here are my takeaways:

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thank you!!

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Thomas Nash @thomasnash.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thank you! Your support has meant a lot over the years Jackie. I am not standing this time, but the best way to support my work in Wellington on the regional council is to support @yadana.bsky.social and @henrypeach.bsky.social who are both brilliant in all the ways.

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Reposted by Thomas Nash

Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · Jul 10

in what will be remembered as an innovative and possibly foolhardy move, I have tried to include numbers and even a graph in this piece of commentary about local government rates

Spinoff text: The primary culprit for Wellington’s rates rise is less wasteful spending and more a long-shirked repair bill. Politicians put off investment in Wellington’s pipe network for decades, until eventually it started alternating between leaking and spraying human excrement on passersby. Thanks to her tightwad predecessors, the current mayor Tory Whanau has had to spend tens of millions of dollars to stop the citizens of our nation’s capital being drowned in a huge poonami.

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