Latest / Best of Business / Kerre Woodham: Will the new CRL really boost productivity?

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Kerre Woodham: Will the new CRL really boost productivity? · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZB. Follow this
• 0:13
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• 0:16
  Speaker 2: I hope you'll be phoning in to tell me all
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: about the CRL because it's trains, planes and automobiles today
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: with the official launch of the long-awaited CRL yesterday. This
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: morning it was the hard launch as commuters test the reliability,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: convenience and time-saving potential of the railway line. Tough day
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: to be a bus. Nobody cares, the big stinky diesel thing,
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: even though I know a few of you have turned electric.
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  Speaker 2: There the buses are, heroically supporting the commuter network. Around
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  Speaker 2: 70 million passenger trips per year. Where's the gratitude? There
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  Speaker 2: is none. It's all, ooh, shiny trains. But honestly, who
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  Speaker 2: doesn't love a train? And there'll be some of you thinking, oh,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: how very Auckland, come on. You know, and I know,
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  Speaker 2: that when you go to New York or London or
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  Speaker 2: Paris or Hong Kong or Singapore, even Australia, it's so
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  Speaker 2: exciting to be able to jump onto a commuter line
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  Speaker 2: that works, that takes you where you want to go, cheaply, expeditiously.
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  Speaker 2: It's fantastic. We have our oyster cards and we've worked
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  Speaker 2: out the lines and we think we're so sophisticated as
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  Speaker 2: we jump on and off the trains. The subways, metros
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  Speaker 2: or tubes might be old and dirty or smelly but
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  Speaker 2: you can spot a kiwi. They're so excited to be
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  Speaker 2: on there. There's none of this block yourself off and
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: go into your own mind if you're a resident of
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  Speaker 2: the aforementioned cities. You just block yourself out and think
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  Speaker 2: this will be over soon. This too will end. We're
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: bouncing around on hanging off the straps, just thrilled to
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  Speaker 2: bits to be there. And now we've got one of
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  Speaker 2: our own. I would definitely be using a train if
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  Speaker 2: the new harbour crossing is built with the capacity to
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  Speaker 2: run trains, although I will probably be dead by the
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  Speaker 2: time a new harbour crossing is built. My ancestors will rejoice.
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  Speaker 2: And the rejoicing yesterday, the sky tower was lit up
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  Speaker 2: with the CRL map. People of all ages set their
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  Speaker 2: alarms to stupid o'clock to catch the first trains. People
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  Speaker 2: from around the country came to Auckland to ride the
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  Speaker 2: first train. I'd probably draw the line at saying, tānu, tānu, tānu,
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  Speaker 2: a group chant as you go through the first tānu.
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  Speaker 2: But then I'm not a rail fan or a train
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  Speaker 2: spotter or a pharaoh equinologist or an anorak or a
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  Speaker 2: gunzel or a foamer or a denture or taku, which
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  Speaker 2: is all names from different cultures for those who love trains.
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  Speaker 2: But the fact that there are so many names in
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  Speaker 2: so many different languages is And so many different cultures
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  Speaker 2: for people who love trains shows what a fan base
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  Speaker 2: they have. But beyond this special group of people getting
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  Speaker 2: their kicks, there's hope that there will be a significant
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  Speaker 2: return on investment with the building of the CRL. Aucklanders
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  Speaker 2: lose millions of hours each year stuck in traffic, and
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  Speaker 2: removing even a small percentage of vehicles makes travel times faster,
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  Speaker 2: more reliable for everyone else, and that improves productivity. It
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: is hoped that the flow-on effects will go right down
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  Speaker 2: the country. It won't just be a fun thing to ride.
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  Speaker 2: Or to go on the new ale trail, or the
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  Speaker 2: ale rail trail, whichever you want to call it. Some
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  Speaker 2: friends of mine said they were going to go on
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  Speaker 2: the new rail link over the weekend and stop off
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  Speaker 2: for a glass of wine at different stations or water
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  Speaker 2: after the first two. But there is an actual ale
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  Speaker 2: trail on the rail. five breweries, independent breweries have signed
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  Speaker 2: up for it. So you can Google that and find it.
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  Speaker 2: Businesses like our lovely lady with the flowers in, what
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  Speaker 2: is the street? Victoria Street. Victoria Street will be praying
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  Speaker 2: that the disruption and the loss of business and the
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  Speaker 2: hanging on by a thread will all be worth it
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  Speaker 2: now that the CRL is finally up and running. So
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  Speaker 2: I would love to hear from those of you who
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  Speaker 2: have ridden the train, who have jumped on board, test
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  Speaker 2: driven it yesterday or have taken the chance to come
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  Speaker 2: into work today on the train? Does it make much difference?
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  Speaker 2: Is it going to be part of your regular commute?
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  Speaker 2: If you're a train spotter, love to hear from you too.
• 4:40
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