Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Travelling Gravely

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  • Gareth Ward,

    Well Mr McCaw, I've been hugely impressed by Green Cabs here in the last week.
    After booking one to head out to an hour long meeting, when I called again for the return they opened the conversation with "Hi Gareth, are you still at XXXX? We can come get you. Oh and do you want to go back to YYYY where we got you before? Great. Done"
    And then the different cab driver had my taxi charge card numbers already applied from my account to his little computer-thingy so just printed a slip of paper for me to sign.
    They've got more than just the cars advanced technologically.

    Although it is rather eery to have them silently slip away when they drop you off. Turned around and it was gone. Keiza Sose (sp?) Cabs perhaps..

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Thomas,

    In the end, what can be a half-hour journey took 70 minutes and cost $90

    Ahhhh, Auckland. The problem is, it's so popular

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    glad to have you along RB. been wanting to return the hospitality of that '05 christmas party for a fair while now.

    will try to get the recipe for that pork belly up on object dart </plugging my own site. heh> sometime soonish, along with kerry's request for how to clean squid (of course)

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I always tell them the night before I'm catching a flight and which one (but I'm going to the airport, doesn't that make it a tad obvious) but then I'm someone who just has to be there early so it's only really an issue on frosty mornings here in Dunedin.

    Speaking of which I've already told Grant I wont make it on the 2nd (I'll be on a beach somewhere warm) I will be hosting a house party the previous Saturday that's likely to entertain at least one game of Werewolf (which you may have heard Russell talk about) drop me a note if you have the urge

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Oh, and here's the cross-post from the crime thread for the links to this week's Media7, featuring a panel discussion on the police's PR wars with former detective inspector Graham Bell, longtime police reporter (and now academic) Dominic Andrae, and investigative reporter Phil Kitchin:

    TVNZ ondemand

    Windows Media clips of the show.

    The podcast feed

    And the YouTube version.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Evan Yates,

    there seems to be quite a groundswell for sharia law in New Zealand

    Only among the self-selecting sample of psychos who choose to spill their spleens on talk-back.
    Middle class white left-ish leaning demi-liberals like myself just sit back and weep at the sad state of some people's lives.

    Serious criminals are in the minority in this country and so are the serious loonies who want to take a leaf out of Draco's book when it comes to punishing them. (That's not Draco Malfoy either...)

    I suggest we say : "Fine. We will lop hands off taggers. But we need volunteers to perform the amputations."
    When the volunteers put their intact hands up, we then get a definitive list of people with serious mental problems that need watching ;-)

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    (oh yeah and someone put our airport so far away that a cab ride is $70 normally - luckily my boss pays for it)

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Evan Yates,

    oh yeah and someone put our airport so far away that a cab ride is $70 normally - luckily my boss pays for it

    Ummmm... Paul, would you prefer to have the airport so close that you can be there by taxi in $20, but 747s take-off over your house every 20 minutes?

    The problem is not remoteness (good for airports) but access. Direct rail and bus links plus motorways that end at the terminals would help.

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    (oh yeah and someone put our airport so far away that a cab ride is $70 normally - luckily my boss pays for it)

    Yeah I've always wondered about that - it's like, in another country it's so far from town - it'd be more than $70, wouldn't it?

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • johnno,

    I enjoyed the Media 7 panel discussion. I have a lot of time for Phil Kitchin as a reporter. It said a lot for the man's journalistic integrity that his efforts to expose the horrendous historical actions by some cops against women had no impact on his relationship with serving police officers. At a time when the Police were in the middle of a PR disaster (to borrow a term), he was still getting stories from cops all around the country.

    Russell, you need to get Phil Wallington to do something about your lighting. The harsh key light does no-one any favours. I realise its a small studio, and the studio lighting people are worried probably worried about light spilling onto the background, but you need (deserve) to have diffused lighting on your face. It wouldn't take much to have some soft flourescent or LED fixtures put up, and the could be flagged to reduce any spill onto the background.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 111 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Ackroyd,

    The latent sadism of the good folk of suburbia.

    Them's fightin' words.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 159 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    The problem is not remoteness (good for airports) but access. Direct rail and bus links plus motorways that end at the terminals would help.

    Actually I think in Dunedin the problem was available flat land. Why it's not next to Mosgiel though, I don't know.

    Direct rail and bus links to Dunedin airport? You haven't seen our airport have you...

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    seems to regularly be $70 (haven't done it for about 6 months though) - we don't get 747s, they wont fit - we occasionally have 737's that are arriving early taking sightseeing jaunts at eye level past our house (and at the moment there's some annoying army 'terrorist' exercise that seems to involve helicopters late at night going on)

    The basic problem is that Dunedin built its airport (aerodrome) in Mosgiel - it's a great small plane field, but tucked in under the hills for flights coming in from the north but when the time came to make a real airport there wasn't enough space to expand - downtown isn't exactly full of runway shaped flat land and I guess no one wanted to fill in the harbour - where it ended up was probably the closest piece of available flat land

    People talk about putting in a rail link or something, I suspect the number of travelers really isn't large enough - once you get on SH1 it's a fast drive though

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    <quotehat seems to involve helicopters late at night going on</quote>

    That'll be your local SUV drivers trading up.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    $70 is pricey, but it seems most fares to the airport are that expensive.

    we caught a shuttle bus a couple of weekends ago and that cost us $50 for two people... so much for economy.

    if i'm ever in auckland for work i just hire a car. the daily rate, including petrol and parking, is far cheaper than any other option.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Nick D'Angelo,

    In the end, what can be a half-hour journey took 70 minutes and cost $90

    It'll take slightly longer but for that price I can fly from Venice to Paris. (Yes, it's a super cheapie but it's mad innit?)

    Maxx have recently announced new bus schedules that can get you to the Auckland Airport but like yourself I really do prefer a taxi to take me straight there, instead of fiddling around catching airport buses/transfers. But you never quite get to go straight there do you?

    And the problem won't be solved by a train link, as some are pushing for. Whilst for me a taxi into Britomart will be much cheaper, it's not really going to help those on the North Shore, or outer suburbs.

    </sigh> If only we had Wellington's foresight in establishing a proper train network all those years ago ...

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Llewellyn,

    Yeah I've always wondered about that - it's like, in another country it's so far from town - it'd be more than $70, wouldn't it?

    I caught a taxi from Mt Albert to Airport yesterday and it was $40.00. But granted, that was unusual, as was the traffic chaos earlier in the week (same day that RB travelled?) which was caused by an 11 car nose to tail on the motorway. Took me 90 minutes to get there that particular day.

    Some good news is that bus services have this week been beefed up quite a bit - Airbus now every 15 minutes, plus a new bus service between Airport and Sth Auckland. And the renovation of Sth Western motorway is going to be scalable for rail (so I understand). I suspect rail will be a few years away though, even though there is a lot of political will to make it happen - funding will be the major sticking point.

    Mt Albert • Since Nov 2006 • 399 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    If only we had Wellington's foresight in establishing a proper train network all those years ago ...

    it doesn't run to the airport. and the current council has absolutely no interest in it ever doing so.

    it's all cars round here, mate.

    i'd encourage anyone in wellington who's curious/perplexed by the council's unwillingness to give us an expanded/decent rail network to write in with a submission on the latest corridor plans.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Ummmm... Paul, would you prefer to have the airport so close that you can be there by taxi in $20, but 747s take-off over your house every 20 minutes?

    Or how about the worst of both worlds? My place in Sydney is about 25 mins from the airport - this often equates to a $40 cab ride - plus I get 747s overhead, sometimes, every 5 mins (usually less but for rain and runway extensions)!

    And, and... don't get me started on how bad taxi drivers are in Sydney...

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    we caught a shuttle bus a couple of weekends ago and that cost us $50 for two people... so much for economy.

    Shuttles here in Dunedin were, at least until a couple of years ago when I last caught one, $10/person to your door. They were $10 when I first caught one, 16 years ago, which, if is still the case, is pretty good given general inflation, wages for drivers, and petrol costs.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    it's all cars round here, mate.

    And parking at Wellington airport since they rebuilt the parking area a few years ago is criminal. Costs me about as much to park for a long weekend at Dunedin airport as it does to park for a couple of hours at Wellington.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I've had issues with Coop - 90% of the time they're perfect, 10% they stuff up.

    That's what happens when you live in an urban sprawl dedicated to the motor car though. Takes 15 minutes to get from downtown Wellington to the airport. Sometimes they even have good enough weather to fly planes.

    If they built a train link (or even a virtual train - a bus with dedicated road space and a reliable schedule) people could at least choose to live in a public transport accessible area and have a straightforward airport run.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I have no problems with those talkback callers having the fascist state they want. Only think is, it'd be a fascist state run by me.

    Talkback callers would be starved and frozen in antarctic concentration camps. Provided with no food or adequate shelter, but a computer and telephone so that they broadcast and blog the story of their slow and painful death. Pour encourager les autres

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • slarty,

    I do the Ferry to Airport run every week in a Corporate Cab.

    $68 a pop ($73 on the way back because the AIA monopoly taxes the cab drivers for the use of the rank...)

    Since Nov 2006 • 290 posts Report Reply

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    The Airport Bus at Christchurch is $7 each way.
    If you have a Metro Card it's $1.90.

    So if you visit regularly to the Garden City (currently foggy) gat a metro card.

    Also you can ride the ferry (Diamond Harbour to Lyttleton) & catch a bus to the city and beyond for under $3 one way.

    My thoughts are with the Insp. Fitzgeralds family after being killed while cycling in Wellington. Here in Christchurch we lost the Cr Condon & para-olympian while training in his wheelchair along marshlands road not long ago.

    I hope these tragic events to may facilatate parrallel infrastructure.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report Reply

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