Re: [Melb] Airport Heavy Rail Connection Needed!

[David McLoughlin <davemcl*PISSOFFSPAMMERS*@iprolink.co.nzzzzz>]

Daniel Bowen wrote:
 
> I don't know whereabouts you live, but a taxi from Tullamarine to my home in
> Glen Huntly recently cost just under $60. Only took about 30 minutes though,
> so it was probably worth it.

Sigh.

I really HATE the high taxi fares on this side of the ditch. We have had
taxi deregulation for years now and our major cities have dozens of
competing taxi companies, with so many cabs on the road that most of
them wait hours for fares. That means they also charge really high
fares.

A taxi from Auckland airport to my place, which is about the same
distance as from Tullamarine to about Royal Park, costs $35 to $40
bloody dollars.

>From my office in Newmarket to the CBD three kms away costs $15 by taxi,
which is why I always take the Link bus, Auckland's best and busiest bus
route,  for $1.

When I go to Wellington or Christchurch or some such place for a few
days, I park my car at the airport for $15 a day which is also
extortion, but even at that price if I am away even for six days it is
still cheaper than taxis.

There is no city transport bus (let alone a train) to Auckland airport,
NZ's busiest, yet even the slightly less busy Wellington and
Christchurch airports are served by the city bus system with frequent
buses at decent fares. I believe that the Wellington and Christchurch
airport routes operate at a profit, in Christchurch's case it is the
only route that makes a clear profit and needs no subsidy for evening
and weekend services.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand