Greetings to the Wellington light rail email list.

(Seeing this heads-up for the first time? Probably because of recent contact we made re light rail, urbanism, Lets Get Wellington Moving, Congestion Free Wellington, etc – but email me back if you don’t want to get any more.)

These newsletters appear personally from me, Brent Efford, in my role as the NZ Agent for the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), just as BCC emails and attachments sent from my computer. No hate-spreading Facebook or other ’social’ media involved! The amount of content depends on the time I have for research and writing.

Black and red type is my composition, green is copied.

(The ghastly tragedy in Christchurch last Friday has occupied my attention to the extent that producing a more substantial newsletter as promised, this time round, became impossible. Sorry! If the national two minutes of silence observance occurs during the Friday lunch hour we will observe it at TRAX.)

What is the LRTA?: SEE 4 BELOW!

1 TRAX lunch: this Friday, 22 March

Our regular lunch get-togethers, on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month, at TRAX, Wellington Railway Station, 12.00. Our next TRAX lunch is this Friday, 22 March.

2 Also this Friday: Roger Blakeley - Essentials of a 21st Century Transport System
Hear Cr Dr Roger Blakeley discuss this topic at 5:30pm on Friday the 22nd of March at the Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington.

The outcome of “Let’s Get Wellington Moving” is expected soon. This timely presentation will discuss essentials of a 21stCentury transport strategy. It will start with Jan Gehl’s philosophy of "Cities are for people, not cars". That means great walking, cycling, e-bikes, e-scooters, and public transport. Wellington needs light rail, integrated with the bus network. Our bus fleet can be 100% electric by 2030. Digital urban mobility, including car sharing and autonomous vehicles, will see private car ownership drop radically within 2 decades. Wellington can achieve zero carbon emissions from transport by 2040. Wellington will truely be a “city for people”.

Dr Roger Blakeley is a Greater Wellington Regional Councillor and elected member of the Capital and Coast District Health Board. He was Chief Planning Officer, Auckland ‘SuperCity’ Council; Chief Executive, Porirua City Council; Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs; and Chief Executive, Ministry for the Environment.

The views that Dr Blakeley will be discussing are his personal and professional opinions, not the views of Greater Wellington Regional Council.

All welcome. If you would like to attend, please register here. https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/WebForms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.fabians.org.nz%2fadministrator%2fcomponents%2fcom_civicrm%2fcivicrm%2fextern%2furl.php%3fu%3d8962%26qid%3d749173&srcid=12741065&srctid=1&erid=975657540&trid=9b81370e-8dd3-4cc7-9eea-9f266fc420a8

My personal note: Dr Roger Blakeley is one of the handful of regional councillors who have articulated a vision for transport in the region that goes beyond the suburban cities' ‘four lanes to the planes’ obsession. With council elections later this year, and the exciting possibility that Roger could become Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council thereafter, this presentation could be a glimpse into an alternative future for the region.

3 Reminder: Tram-Train presentation still available

As advised on 14 February, my presentation to the Railway Technical Society “Direct through service … tram-train for a complete rail system” that day was cut short by a fire evacuation, but a PDF file of the slides+notes is available on the RTSA website.

The presentation starts by making these key points:
Wellington PT use is not high by best world standards
75% of the half-million residents in the region live in the rail catchment north of the CBD
Wellington is one of the few regions with a rail transit spine stopping at the edge of its CBD
Improvements like better bus services and new trains add only a few percent to PT use
World experience is quite unequivocal: a continuous rail spine is absolutely essential to make real shifts from cars and continuous motorways to PT.

I invite you to follow this link https://www.rtsa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/190214-Efford-RTSA-presentation-notes-attachments-with-disclaimer..pdf and view not only the intended presentation but also related material (slide 61 onwards) in one PDF file.

4 What is the LRTA?

The Light Rail Transit Association was formed in the UK in 1937 and … “ is the world’s leading organisation concerned with the achievement of better public transport through light rail, tramway and metro systems in towns and cities world–wide.” (http://www.lrta.org/ http://www.lrta.org/).
The Association is a partnership between civil society advocates (such as myself) and professionals within the public transport industry.

The main activities of the LRTA are:

· Information provision and advocacy

· Publication of the monthly light rail industry journal Tramways and Urban Transport; T&UT is available online, by subscription online (via the above website), and also retail in some magazine outlets like Magnetix in Wellington.

· Sponsorship of major UK light rail industry events such as the annual Light Rail Awards and a separate annual industry conference.

Although remaining UK-based, the LRTA has a world-wide reach, including agents in a number of countries. One of its most notable achievements was the provision of information about modern tramways which informed and led to the establishment of light rail in San Diego, opening in 1981 – the first new-generation LRT system in the United States and the progenitor of several dozen new systems now operating there.

Nga mihi,

Brent Efford
NZ Agent, Light Rail Transit Assn