Abstract:
The hegemony of automobility in New Zealand is reflected in beliefs, laws, practices, and investment patterns that prioritise motor vehicles as the predominant transportation mode. Early transport policy focused on nation building until the 1920s then used as an instrument of wider social policy up until the 1940s. From this period until the 1990s, enabling and consolidating automobility was the major focus. A governance structure which favoured roading institutions was supported by story lines of economic growth, safety and need/want promoted by technical experts. Collectively this has resulted in an escalation of private motor vehicle use and a decline in walking, cycling and public transport use. In Auckland, despite the near completion of the 1955 Master Plan, congestion remains a predominant concern in the face of increasing evidence that questions the validity of the assumptions upon which traditional investment decisions were made. This paper explores automobility, transport policy history, processes, and institutions with a particular focus on Auckland and recent Land Transport Management Amendment Act changes.