What did the deliberative forum tell us?

Koi Tū produced a report on the deliberative forum that concluded September 2023.

Read the report here.

The primary measure of the impact of the deliberative process was the change in survey responses
obtained before and after the deliberation, regarding participants’ perspectives on the existing
transport system and its impacts, and their level of support for various possible changes. The survey
asked how much they agreed or disagreed with a set of statements, using a Likert rating scale from 0
(strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree). The difference in responses between the two surveys
revealed shifts in views after learning and deliberation. Qualitative data on participants views during
deliberation was also collected and analysed.

At the start of the forum there was already support for some (but not all) changes and interventions
that would help to reduce the negative impacts of transport. After deliberation, support for all such
interventions increased, as indicated by the mean level of support across all participants. From the
start, the participants understood that building more road lanes was not a particularly effective way to
alleviate congestion and other problems, with low support in the first survey reducing further after
learning and deliberation.

The data indicate that the most favoured changes are:

• Upgrade Auckland’s rail network so that trains run faster and more frequently
• Make it safer, easier and more comfortable for everybody to walk around their local area
• Provide more bus services so that buses turn up frequently at all times of the day
• Provide a safe and connected bike path network across the Auckland region, including
  removing car parking spaces where required
• Build more homes closer to the city centre, public transport stations and main bus routes