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Timothy Welch

Timothy Welch

The Conversation

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The next government faces transport tests that new roads or cheap fares won’t solve

Election promises focus on new roads and cheaper fares. But making transport affordable also means giving New Zealanders practical alternatives to...

23.10.2026 30

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Auckland now has a plan for congestion charging. But where are the extra buses?

Auckland has settled on how congestion charging could work. But overseas experience shows the alternatives to driving are just as important.

02.09.2026 30

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Cheaper fares won’t fix NZ’s public transport woes – and neither will a few extra buses

One party wants to lower fares. The other wants more services. Neither proposal represents a serious plan to address decades of public transport...

16.06.2026 50

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

As global fuel risk rises, NZ Budget 2026 puts roads first – again

Budget 2026 increases road spending – while offering limited support for public transport, emissions cuts and climate resilience.

29.05.2026 50

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

The government has boxed itself in over fuel saving strategies – but there is a way out

Promoting fuel saving measures as vital to energy security would help frame the oil shock as a technical problem to be solved, not a political issue...

08.04.2026 40

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Iran oil crisis: why NZ’s car dependence is now a strategic liability

New Zealand generates more than 85% of its electricity from renewable sources, but transport remains almost entirely chained to imported oil.

18.03.2026 90

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Higher speeds lower productivity: what the data shows crash delays really cost Auckland

The cost of ‘network disruption’ due to accidents is more than normal estimates suggest, casting doubt on the logic of raising speed limits to...

11.12.2025 50

The Conversation

Timothy Welch