Te reo Māori is being transported to all parts of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Auckland Transport (AT) has been rolling out te reo Māori on its public transport network for the past seven years, and now has 100 per cent of buses completed.
Over that period, one particular voice has resounded in busses, trains and ferries throughout the city - the reo Māori announcements by Josy Peita.
“Tino hiahia ahau ki te tuku i te reo, ahakoa ko wai ki ngā wāhi katoa.”
(I really want to speak the language in all places, no matter who it is, so it is heard in public.)
Peita has worked as AT’s Māori engagement officer since 2017 and, despite her reserved nature, is one of the most well-known voices on public transport.
“Kāore te nuinga o ngā tāngata i te mōhio ko au tēnā e kōrero ana. Pai tēnā ki a au.”
(Most people don’t know that’s me speaking. I prefer it that way.)
100 per cent of dual signage
AT head of Māori outcomes Lillian Tahuri says the company’s reo journey started in 2016, with Auckland Council’s Māori language policy.
“It’s been a journey from zero to where we are now - we’ve got 100 per cent of our reo dual signage in all [of] our train stations, bus stations, on all of our platforms and ferry terminals.”
Tahuri explains that 97.8 per cent of AT’s audio is bilingual, as some of the stops are too short to have audio in both languages.
The team says it is grateful for mātanga reo such as Pania Papa, Leon Blake and Sir Tīmoti Karetu for their hand in bringing this vision to life.
Te reo Māori is also being implemented in cycleways, footpaths and infrastructure buildings.
Of the city’s 1.7 million population, Tahuri says an estimated 300,000 people use AT’s networks each day, and the public response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We even [have] our own staff excited to be sitting on a bus hearing Josy - [her] soothing whaea voice.”
‘Should be mandatory’
Te Ao Māori News asked commuters at Waitematā Britomart Train Station for their thoughts on the implementation of te reo Māori on public transport.
“It [should’ve] been a long time ago when the trains first came out,” one passenger says.
One of a pair of young university students who use trains daily says: “It’s just good to [hear] about the culture as well, cause I also go home and repeat it.”
Another passenger from Papakura says, “I [would’ve] thought that it should be mandatory really, that they would use te reo for each and every stop.”
A groundbreaking feature was also added to AT’s networks this year, incorporating another official language of Aotearoa.
“At Waitematā Britomart we’ve got our first trilingual sign with te reo Māori, English and sign language. And I do think it’s the way of the future.”
Working with 19 iwi
“Tino tautoko ana [te marea]. Ka tangi ētehi ki te rongo i te reo e rere ana ki ēnei wāhi,” Peita says.
([The public] really support it. Some people have teared up hearing the language used in these spaces.)
Tahuri explains how AT has worked closely with the 19 iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau to reinstate indigenous place names throughout the city’s networks, such as Waitematā (Britomart).
“All our new stations along City Rail link, we’ve been fortunate enough with mana whenua gifting us names that are relevant to the people and places of those iwi.”
Tahuri says AT hopes to become totally bilingual across all networks.
“If you’re travelling on our transport network and you’re just a beginner in te reo Māori, continuously listen to what Josy’s saying and [you] will slowly learn.”