Thomas Nash

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

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

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/

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

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/

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. thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360802…

@HendoWest So good to see this!

I applaud this move. We simply must take advantage of the city-shaping investment into CRL, and bring housing closer to work, study and rapid transit. This means more housing in central areas and smarter urban planning for Auckland nzherald.co.nz/nz/govt-instru…

Hello stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360730…

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.

#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.

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

Party Vote | The Post-Freshwater Strategy. Labour: 34% (+3) National: 32% (-2) Greens: 11% (-2) ACT: 8% (N/C) NZF: 8% (+2) TPM: 2% (-2) Preferred PM: Chris Hipkins: 43% (+1) Christopher Luxon: 37% (-4) (TBC) (+/- November)

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/

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/

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/

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

#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: metlink.org.nz/news-and-updat…

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.

@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!

@nashthomas @NZTransitBuzz If I'm elected mayor, I'm going to make sure the Crimes Act bans murder.

#NZPol #TicketingNews: Wellington Mayoral candidate Andrew Little has released a joint policy to reduce the cost of public transport. Under the weekly fare cap, public transport users will pay for a maximum of eight trips per week, with any additional trips free.

@GraemeEdgeler @NZTransitBuzz He doesn’t need to because the Regional Council already agreed to this policy in May last year! metlink.org.nz/news-and-updat…

@NZTransitBuzz Has he changed his mind and decided to run for the Regional Council?