Thomas Nash

Cities, transport and economic and climate transitions. Social Entrepreneur in Residence and Adjunct Lecturer @masseyuni.

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Today council has given me the job of Transport Chair. My top priority is a reliable bus service and, to achieve that, I’ll have a laser like focus on building up the driver workforce. I also want to make sure our transport network is accessible and affordable to everyone. 1/4

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

@metro_mim Honestly could not have set that up better if I’d tried haha

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Big moment today to help sign the contract with Alstom for 19 new 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 more development around railway stations. 1/

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

P.S. Typo above - it’s 18 trains not 19.

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

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

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Bringing Wellington’s bus depots under public control is already helping attract interest from a wider range of bus companies. Public ownership of critical assets can help secure public services, drive competition and get a better deal for the public.
https://t.co/MPTdpzcXGs

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

@HendoWest So good to see this!

[Sam van der Weerden @svdweerden]

Hello

https://t.co/rjuSzg3Awo

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

This new Harbour Quays bus route is big. Speeding up bus trips through the city makes daily life better for people, gets more bus frequency for the same cost and services more destinations. I hope the government will reconsider its decision not to help fund this infrastructure.

[NZ Transit Buzz @NZTransitBuzz]

#BusNews: Plans for a long-awaited second Wellington city centre bus route running along the waterfront quays are beginning to take shape, and the Capital’s two councils will decide in August whether to progress them.

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

@StuartBDonovan @120Aotearoa Think they said 1150 people and three days last week.

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Councils can deliver bus lanes now without being held back by central government. Wellington also needs to get moving, by ourselves if need be, on debit card payment, better transfers between bus and rail and sensible fare caps that we can afford and can actually deliver. 3/

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Wellington needs council candidates to focus on affordable, high value for money projects they can actually deliver. Bus lanes, especially on the Harbour Quays, are a good example. Saving 10 mins for each of the 70,000 bus trips people take each day through the city is big. 1/

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

The Harbour Quays bus route will give back 700,000 minutes overall, that’s 11,600 hours a day at a cost of $10m. This is why the benefit cost ratio will be so high. I wouldn’t be surprised if it works out 10 times better value than any of the proposed urban motorway tunnels. 2/

[Geordie Rogers @grogersxyz]

Your Wellington Greens are committing to delivering a faster and more efficient bus network with bus lanes, stop improvements, and priority lights all the way from Seatoun to the Railway station

[NZ Transit Buzz @NZTransitBuzz]

#BusNews: A Happy Valley site has been purchased by Greater Wellington for the development of a bus depot as part of the regional council’s Public Transport Asset Control Strategy.

MORE: https://t.co/XAdBSorB9P

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

Quite a striking increase in Wellington’s weekend bus use. Saturday is up 31% from 2019, Sunday up 45%. In this period we increased our off peak discount and boosted off peak frequency, reducing drivers’ inconvenient split shifts. Still loads of untapped potential off peak.

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

@GraemeEdgeler @NZTransitBuzz Yes, but am holding myself back now and instead just being grateful about the support for public transport and hopeful it will be backed up by the support public transport actually needs in Wellington, which is bus lanes, something a mayor and city council can actually deliver!

[Thomas Nash @nashthomas]

@GraemeEdgeler @NZTransitBuzz He doesn’t need to because the Regional Council already agreed to this policy in May last year!
https://t.co/X6eug8EXSn