Better value for money for the taxpayer from road investments is vital because few New Zealanders (barely 4.5%) commute to work via public transport – see figure 1. Public transport simply does not make the grade for the great majority of New Zealanders as a way of carrying out their daily lives. The policy question therefore is providing the necessary roads in a more cost-effective manner than now.
Figure 1: Modes of travel to work, New Zealand, 2013 Census
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2013 Census.
A small minority of New Zealand adults commute by bus or train even in the big cities. Figure 2 shows that even in Auckland, for those that left home for work, only 8.3% commute via public transport. In Wellington, 14.1% commute to work from home via public transport – see figure 3.
Figure 2: Modes of travel to work, Auckland, 2013 Census
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2013 Census
Figure 3: Modes of travel to work, Wellington, 2013 Census
Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2013 Census.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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