Train for tourists

NZ Transport 2050's Paul Miller's request to “stop slow trams and start fast trains to the airport” distorts the choices for public transport users in Auckland. He advocates express non-stop trains from the city centre on routes already used for commuters and freight. This gives priority to irregular non-resident passengers over commuting workers and students who will benefit most from a Dominion Rd light rail service.

Brian Rudman rightly wants more than eight stops on Dominion Rd and sees plane passengers as an obstacle to “local punters” getting to work in the CBD and at the airport. Both Miller and Rudman buy in to the very rough forecasts of a doubling in airport passengers from 20 to 40 million a year by 2030. So should priority for taxpayer subsidies to decongest our city be given to locals or people with excessive carbon footprints who also add pressure on accommodation in a city short of 40,000 or more homes? David Holm, Mt Roskill.