The new Sustainable Public Transport Framework is law in Aotearoa. It makes inter-regional public transport easier. But what does this really mean? \
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Back in June 2023, I wrote about how the flow of water could determine access to public transport. This article pointed out that the then-proposed Sustainable Public Transport Framework kicked the issue of inter-regional public transport to touch.
Well, there’s good news on that front and some even better news.
Firstly, numerous submitters to the Land Transport Management (Regulation of Public Transport) Amendment Bill, implementing the Sustainable Public Transport Framework, including myself and Malcolm McCracken on behalf of [Future is Rail](https://www.allrailways.co.nz/), pointed out that there was no sound public policy rationale for treating inter-regional public transport any differently than intra-regional public transport. Especially given that many regional boundaries are aligned with river catchments, meaning that the flow of the water could determine whether or not you have access to public transport.
