Thursday, June 25, 2009



Transmisison Gully not worth the money

Today in Question Time (link to come) Transport Minister Steven Joyce confirmed that the benefit-cost ratio of the proposed Transmisison Gully motorway was "less than one". In other words, even including their strapped chicken "benefits" from reduced travelling time (which assume that the time saved is spent working rather than sleeping in in the morning), the benefits are less than the cost of construction. Sue Kedgely's question, which prompted this revelation, suggested that the benefit-cost ratio was on the order of 0.3 to 0.5 - meaning that the motorway would cost two to three times as much as the benefits it would produce. In short, this motorway is a lemon and a billion dollar waste of money. And yet, the government still seems committed to building it.