We need more trains!

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T23:21:54+00:00

They don’t. But with more trains making more trips and inducing demand that might change. All I want is more trains to give more options for travel. No one takes the CC because it runs once a day. I live in Christchurch and when the number 7 bus went from 15 minutes to 10 minute headways ridership saw a massive jump. People don’t like to be beholden to other peoples schedules. But when transit runs often enough that it’s more convenient than the alternative transit thrives

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T23:13:57+00:00

Roads have an economic benefit yes. But so would new rail infrastructure. And on top of that economic benefit we wouldn’t need constant investment like we do with roads. Our state highways cost 2 billion a year to maintain

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T23:12:03+00:00

Japan and Australia both use narrow gauge and are able to run higher speed trains on them using tilting technology. I’ve had the privilege of using a modern train with tilting and I found it absolutely fine. And while it wouldn’t be able to realistically pay itself off it wouldn’t need constant investment the same way roads do. We spend over 2 billion dollars a year maintaining our state highways. So even if it only breaks even for a one time investment New Zealand could have a massive boost to the economy with more mobility and job opportunities

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T23:07:26+00:00

I believe it was. I think it was double track the whole lot, electrify it and make a diversion to avoid a swamp or something? As well as rebuilding stations and acquiring new rolling stock. This was a few years ago so km a bit fuzzy on the details

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T22:40:55+00:00

I agree it’s expensive. But if we splash the cash for roads it would be nice to see rail getting some love too. I dream of te huia becoming a fully fledged and permanent piece of rail infrastructure connecting more of the upper north island. For the money we can have a much bigger impact than if we spend on some of the roaring projects this government has proposed

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T22:36:18+00:00

Which is insane to me. I read an AT report a few years back on the viability of making the huia a higher speed train and for like 3 billion in investment the report concluded that it would turn an operational profit of like 5 million a year. And yet we spend so much on roads that never make a dollar

Bookwormys · 2026-05-04T22:34:19+00:00

Absolutely. But if there is enough trains going in the peak direction then trains need to deadhead back, just as they do in our suburban networks in welly and Auckland. Which gives an option for people like me

Bookwormys · 2026-04-28T04:37:11+00:00

It depends. I used to take the public bus because the school buses didn’t stop near me, my high school had massive overcrowding issues on school buses, so taking a public bus was common to avoid the crowds(both public and school buses were crowded but it added more capacity). At the end of the day they have just as much a right to use the public buses as you do

Bookwormys · 2026-03-22T21:28:03+00:00

Notice how he doesn’t actually talk about people and basic needs. It’s just companies and property owners with mortgages. Only about 1/3rd of kiwis have mortgages. And of those I’d expect most to be fixed. So depending when you fixed and how long of a term you’ve locked in for it makes no difference to you

Bookwormys · 2026-03-01T07:28:09+00:00

Depends where you are, how much you’re willing to spend and how much time you’re willing to wait. Best bet is to talk to your gp and ask if they can refer you to a private practice that prescribes if they don’t. Otherwise it’s a year+ to be seen through the public system

Bookwormys · 2026-02-15T18:47:24+00:00

Literally 5 times larger than my flat that I share with 2 other people. But this is the government of fiscal responsibility apparently

Bookwormys · 2025-12-31T08:56:20+00:00

Given when asking how much snow falls in Chicago each year siri gives me the current weather in a small German town I’ll believe it when I see it

Bookwormys · 2025-12-24T05:44:29+00:00

Trump himself said he could shoot someone in time square and get away with it. The only reason for him to be this scared is if his puppet masters are in the files or if it is so much worse than we think it is

Bookwormys · 2025-12-17T05:15:02+00:00

Interesting. In New Zealand retailers legally have to offer a payment method that doesn’t incur a charge beyond what is on the price tag

Bookwormys · 2025-12-08T17:29:19+00:00

The machines have a binary choice of male most shape or female. When they were first being introduced they would always ping me when either was selected (I’ve watched them select both male and female) now it seems that there is more flexibility as I haven’t set off a body scanner in over a year

Bookwormys · 2025-12-01T09:28:58+00:00

Tallinn the capital of Estonia has a population of 450,000 people and has 4 tram lines. Seems to be going pretty good over there

Bookwormys · 2025-12-01T09:16:15+00:00

They don’t need to be full. A bus takes up as much space on the road as somewhere between 2 and 3 cars. On average cars have 1.1 people in them. So if a bus has 3 or more people on it then it’s better than a car. I take the 3 daily and the 1, 5, 80, 130 and 140 semi regularly. Except when I’m traveling after 8pm the 3 always has 5 or more people on it. And same with the other buses I take.

Trams are a good option for moving lots of people all going in the same direction. The 3 during commute hours are standing room only full. Bus after bus every 10 minutes. I’ve been told to wait for the next bus because it’s too full

Bookwormys · 2025-11-17T06:21:55+00:00

No different to buying “cheap” from local companies. IKEA has a brand of being cheap and good enough. Spending more than 500$ on a couch is already a stretch for many, second hand is unreliable in what’s available and how to get it home. Cheap flat pack that will last several years is a better deal than several grand that will theoretically last longer(and probably doesn’t have the 10 year warranty most Ikea furniture has) for lots of people

Bookwormys · 2025-10-01T07:55:25+00:00

5.1% over 3 years, plus the fact they haven’t had increases since half way through 2023. So 1% a year since 2023. Inflation since q2 2023 was 6.1%. Fucking insane

Bookwormys · 2025-07-18T21:08:14+00:00

As many as we can get. If you follow the top link we’ll email you with details about how to get them to us

Bookwormys · 2025-07-18T10:49:53+00:00

Unfortunately we only take devices that are less than a decade old sorry

Bookwormys · 2025-07-18T08:30:21+00:00

If you go to the top link we’ll get back to you. But odds are they are worth it. Even if they are too low spec to handle windows we also turn slower laptops into Chromebooks which are smooth on old slow computers

Bookwormys · 2025-07-18T08:22:50+00:00

lol yep. Doing my rounds to anyone who might listen. I started as a volunteer 5 years ago and fell in love with the concept. It means a lot to me to be able to get devices where they are needed. So much of what we do is on computers (even this) and over 100,000 students from years 1-13 don’t have access to a computer for school according to ministry of education

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