I’ve been watching the fuel crisis unfold this past week with a feeling I can only describe as grim recognition.
Not with surprise, as none of us at Bike Auckland are surprised. We have been saying for years that New Zealand’s near-total dependence on private cars makes us fragile. Not just inconvenienced-on-a-bad-commuting-day fragile. Genuinely, structurally exposed, as households, as communities, as a country. And here we are.
What has struck me most isn’t the crisis itself. It’s the government’s response to it. Or rather, the absence of one. While New Zealanders are anxious at the pump and scrambling to figure out how to get to work and get their kids to school, the central government message has essentially been: carry on as you normally would. I find that baffling. And frankly, a little insulting.
Because the tools to respond are right there. We don’t need to wait years. We don’t need billion-dollar projects. Some of the most powerful levers we have are almost embarrassingly straightforward.
My personal favourite? Reducing speeds. Lower speeds conserve the fuel we have. They make streets calmer and more welcoming. They mean kids can walk or wheel to school without parents holding their breath. They mean someone dusting off their old bike for the first time in years doesn’t have to feel like they’re taking their life in their hands.
And what really excites me is that lower speeds on the Auckland Harbour Bridge could mean we finally open a lane for people on foot, on bikes, on scooters. Something Aucklanders have wanted for so long, potentially unlocked by necessity and a simple speed limit.
Last year’s Government Policy Statement deliberately entrenched our car dependence even further by increasing speeds, pulling funding from cycling and walking, and making school zones less safe. The Roads of National Significance programme, already a questionable use of public money, looks almost absurd right now.
People are already responding by sourcing electric vehicles, using public transport and embracing active travel. Now they need the environment to catch up with their instincts.
We have the ideas. We have the will. What we need now is leadership.
Karen Hormann
Co-Chair, Bike Auckland
