Te Ara Matatika | The Fair Path

Everybody in Aotearoa New Zealand should be able to get where they need to go affordably, safely, and on time, in ways that protect the planet. This report argues that to achieve this goal and meet our emissions reduction targets, our leaders need to reprogramme the transport system around two objectives: reducing car dependence and making the transport system fairer.

Right now, our car-dominated transport system is a major source of emissions, kills or injures thousands of people each year, and both causes and worsens major inequities.

We can’t meet our climate change targets without reducing how much we drive – not even by replacing petrol and diesel cars with EVs. But we must put equity at the heart this effort, or we risk loading the costs of the transition onto those with the least resources and making it harder for disadvantaged groups to get around.

The fair path leads away from gridlocked traffic towards connected urban communities. If our leaders programme the transport system with the right settings now, they can secure us connected, low-emissions cities that work better for everyone for the future.

You can also download an Easy Read Summary of the report here.

A webinar to discuss the report was broadcast on 8 December 2021, and you can access the recording here: Te Ara Matatika webinar.

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Latest Media

• Newshub: Helen Clark Foundation joins calls to make public transport free for low-income groups, under-25s to increase equity and reduce emissions (November, 2021).
• NZ Herald: Holly Walker: Our transport journey is our destination (paywalled) (November, 2021).
• The Spinoff: The big questions that will help create a better public transport system (November, 2021).
• Stuff: Christchurch must invest in high quality public transport (March, 2022).