The Wellingtonista

Random stuff about Wellington since 2005

Transport

Public transport nirvana

by Alan October 20, 2018

<rant> Imagine if you could download an app and tap a few onscreen buttons to create a Tap and Go public transport payment card that lived inside your phone. Then imagine that you could add some dollars to this card with a couple more taps. Now you’re using it on buses, trains, in convenience stores, […]

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Zoom zoom Zoomy?

by Joanna October 9, 2017

We wrote about Uber when they first came to Wellington so I’m not here to regurgitate the many cons (though this ‘game’ about the life of an Uber driver is worth a play, similar to Action Station’s Pick A Path). The obvious truth is that for passengers, Uber is super convenient. Now there’s New Zealand-based […]

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In which we solve all traffic problems forever

by Joanna August 21, 2017

In purely coincidental timing just before an election, the National Party is handing out new roads in an Oprah-like fashion. You get a road, and you get a road and YOU get a road. How we’re going to get a couple of billion dollars of new roads out of a budget full of holes for […]

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Cruisy

by Dan December 30, 2016

Evidently, spending fourteen nights on board a luxurious floating hotel can be a little disorientating so every night at midnight a crew member goes around all the elevators on the ship and swaps out a little plaque on the floor with the correct day of the week. This is one of several fairly astounding facts this […]

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À la carless – The progressive dinner by e-bike

by Herbertimo August 25, 2016

Wellington on a Plate is nearing it’s end for 2016 but there’s still a good weekend’s worth of time to get out and about and try the things you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t got around to yet. I was lucky enough to be able to do that on an electric bicycle and it’s one […]

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Notional Significance: Yellow Earth

by Alf Rune September 14, 2015

[See all Notional Significance posts] Wind-hurried raindrops pelt against the Shadehouse roof, which provides but meagre shelter as I wait out the passing shower. Cold droplets descend through green air into the expectant foliage, maintaining a humid atmosphere to feed a pteridomaniac’s wet dream. In a fern-fevered nation this is an orgy of patriotic symbols, […]

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Victoria, What Do We Want From You?

by Tom September 18, 2014

Saturday is your last opportunity to make your voice heard on the future of…no, I’m not talking about the elections, but about something more specific to Wellington. In a very condensed consultation process, WCC is seeking your input on the proposed transformation of three blocks Victoria St, between Dixon and Abel Smith streets. And that […]

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Uber Duper?

by Tom August 29, 2014

Plenty of Wellingtonians are getting excited about the arrival of the rapidly-growing quasi-taxi service Uber. They offer the convenience of a smartphone app, the potential for better service and flexibility, a promise to disrupt what is often seen as a monopolistic industry, plus fancy cars and All Blacks. For that, they’ve been rewarded with billions of dollars of […]

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Notional Significance: Two Tides

by Alf Rune June 20, 2014

[See all Notional Significance posts] The stream is now fully canalised, a tame channel running arrow-straight towards the harbour, as subtle as an engineer’s ruler. It once meandered across the broadening valley, softly folding into the estuarine flats. On its left bank, the colonial forces built Elliot’s Stockade to oversee the new road, but the […]

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Notional Significance: Asylum

by Alf Rune May 13, 2014

[See all Notional Significance posts] After my detour, I head back to the motorway’s edge. My route takes me along Mexted Terrace—a name that is engraved across Tawa’s skin, and with its twin associations of car dealerships and rugby it encompasses two dimensions of the suburban mythos. On the corner of Tremewan Street, with the […]

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