The government has set out the fine print for its promised shake-up of Auckland Transport, pledging to have the new set-up in place within a year.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown unveiled the legislation at a media conference on Friday morning, alongside Auckland mayor Wayne Brown who declared it a "major victory" for Auckanders.
Under the plan - first announced in December - Auckland Transport will be stripped of most of its powers and will refocus on delivering public transport.
Auckland Council will instead take charge of all major decisions, including policy, planning, and road delivery and management.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown unveiled the legislation at a media conference on Friday morning. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
The city's mayor and 20 councillors will be responsible for major roads and the city centre, while local boards will have oversight of smaller roads, including speed limits, parking, event closures and cycleways.
A new Auckland Regional Transport Committee will be created, made up of councillors, government appointees and an independent chair, tasked with developing a 30-year transport plan.
The bill will have its first reading this month and is expected to pass into law in March next year.
The council will then appoint a transition director to oversee a six-month shift to the new structure, to be fully in place before next September.
Bishop described the changes to Auckland Transport as the "most significant" since the super city was created in 2010.
"Auckland's transport system needs strong, appropriate governance to ensure people and goods can move across the city efficiently and safely, while ensuring value for money from every dollar spent by central government and Auckland Council," Bishop said.
"These changes mean that Auckland Council's elected members will be directly accountable to the public for most transport decisions that affect the daily lives of Aucklanders."
Auckland Minister Simeon Brown said that would restore democratic legitimacy: "For too long, Auckland Transport has failed to listen to Aucklanders and take their views into account."
Auckland's deputy mayor was hopeful that giving transport decision-making powers to elected officials would restore public trust.
Desley Simpson told Midday Report it was clear that the current system was problematic.
"If I had a dollar for every complaint I get about transport in Auckland, I could probably fund the $1.5 billion it costs us each year to run it myself."
She said elected members would have the power and responsibility to make decisions, as well as accountability for those decisions.
"We've got an election coming up, and local board members for the first time get a whole lot of control over what happens on local roads. Whether there's a speed limit or not, what the speed limit is, and where a bus stop goes, for example.
"If the people of Auckland do not like those decisions, they can vote out the people who made them and currently that's not the case.
"Auckland Transport is called a council-controlled organisation, but in reality, it's a council-uncontrolled organisation, and the change in legislation will make Auckland Transport become good at delivering Auckland Transport, which it should be."
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