Auckland has placed among the worst cities in the world for public transport and road taxes in a new global rankings index.
The meta-analysis also found the cost of parking in New Zealand's biggest city is comparable to Los Angeles.
According to a new rankings index, it's worse than Mongolia and Nigeria's biggest cities.
A transport expert says there are two key reasons why.
"We need more rapid transit, more busways, more rail lines, more light rail, more of those projects, and cheaper fares in comparison to other options," said Matt Lowrie from Greater Auckland.
Auckland has the 11th worst public transport, according to the new index, which gave scores based on accessibility, reliability, and affordability.
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The best are the ones you'd expect -- New York, Singapore, London, and Tokyo.
"You need good public transport so people have more options so people aren't stuck in a car because every person who's on a train or bus or ferry is someone who's not on the road, in your way and causing congestion," said Lowrie.
Published by an auto retailer, which is part of the French car group that makes Peugeot and Citroen, the research pulled together data from trusted sources like the World Bank, the United Nations, and the OECD.
It's not all bad, though; Aucklanders are apparently comparatively calm drivers
Auckland Transport says it doesn't agree with the findings. It pointed to another recent study that ranked Auckland 3rd in the world a measure called urban mobility.
The French rankings found Auckland drivers are out of pocket too - the city ranked as the 8th least affordable in terms of road taxes.
It's not all bad, though; Aucklanders are apparently comparatively calm drivers - ranked 17th for road rage.
And the air quality was found to be the fourth-best -- something that could get even better if more people swap cars for public transport.
