A mixture of higher rates bills and Government funding has secured some public transport projects in Auckland which had been threatened by the scrapping of the proposed regional fuel tax.
The Transport Agency will pay 60% of the cost of major new railway stations, including in Newmarket, New Lynn and Manukau.
It will also lend Auckland Regional Council $32 million to supplement rates increases, which will peak at 6.7% in five years.
However there is still no funding for new electric trains or for an integrated ticketing system.
The council was left with a $ 200 million funding gap for projects that were already underway when the regional fuel tax was scrapped.
Council chairman Mike Lee says certainty for some projects has only come about through begging and borrowing.
He says the arrangement only partly solves Auckland's future investment in public transport infrastructure.
