It can be revealed through the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act that Auckland Transport has cut staff numbers from 1923 in June 2023, to 1773 in June 2024. 

Spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, Sam Warren, said, “Over a 12-month period, 150 full time positions have been removed as part of a $30m cost-cutting exercise by Mayor Wayne Brown towards Auckland Transport’s bloated expenditure.

“The total number of consultants and comms staff however remains unknown to the public. It’s here where many of the unnecessary positions in AT exist.

“We can also reveal that 22% of Auckland Transport staff have management positions, which naturally comes with more pay and bureaucracy. With Aucklanders bearing the brunt of continuous rates increases, as well as stubbornly high living costs, a far leaner staffing model is required to get this expenditure under control.

“The cost of roading, infrastructure and public transport remain high, far outpacing inflation. Clearly there's much work to be done in this space to cut costs, and further cuts are necessary to meet budgets and get a handle on the Auckland Transport behemoth."