You'll probably have seen in the news the damage done to the Auckland Harbour Bridge in freak winds last week. It led to reduced lanes and commuter chaos but we saw real leadership by Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi in creating a temporary bus lane linking the city centre to the Harbour Bridge. It reduces congestion by making buses faster, accessible and more reliable. We think this could be the beginning of an array of permanent low-carbon, transformative solutions to ease congestion and we are excited to see what else Waka Kotahi and Auckland Transport implement in the future to encourage walking, cycling and busing across Hauraki.

To show our support and thank them for their work we dropped by their offices this morning delivering a plant and a handwritten letter. Read below to see what we said!

[Generation Zero members handing over the handwritten letters and plants to AT and Waka Kotahi]

Tēnā kōrua Waka Kotahi/Auckland Transport,

Last week has been tough. So, the team at Generation Zero Tāmaki Makaurau wanted to extend our support for the actions your team has taken to respond to the damaged Harbour Bridge. We appreciate you!

Well done on decisively implementing the priority bus lanes! This was an efficient, low-carbon and, more importantly, a transformative solution to ease congestion created by the damage, while keeping commuters safe. Thank you for showcasing that dedicated public transport corridors skip congestion and improve reliability.

Can you please make the priority bus lane on the Harbour Bridge permanent so commuters can further embrace public transport going forward? While we're at it, let's go a step further and be even more ambitious about future-fitting Tāmaki Makaurau by dedicating a lane to walking and cycling!

Again, congratulations, ka pai tō mahi and go well as you continue to get our favourite coat hanger up and operating again better than ever.

Love,

The team at Generation Zero Tāmaki Makaurau