Public transport in Auckland
Encyclopedia
Public transport in Auckland
, the largest metropolitan area of New Zealand, consists of three modes – bus
, train and ferry
. Services are provided under the "MAXX" brand
by private transport providers, coordinated by Auckland Transport, the council controlled organisation that replaced the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA). Britomart
is the main transportation hub
.
Historically Auckland was well served by public transport, but an extensive Auckland tram system
was dismantled in the 1950s, which, together with the decision not to electrify the rail network and competition from significant funding in the motorway system, led to a collapse in both mode share
and total trips. Major projects have been undertaken in recent years to improve public transport, both smaller-scale initiatives such as bus priority measures and large-scale bus and rail infrastructure projects. Public transport use grew by 4.4% over all modes in the year to June 2008 (with rail passenger up 18.4%), and later accelerated even more, growing by 8.3 percent in the year to February 2011 (with rail passengers up 17.9%), with Auckland for the first time reaching 1950s overall numbers again.
There have also been significant gains in the distances travelled by public transport in the Auckland Region, with an associated improvement in subsidy efficiency - with subsidy totals rising 14% in 2008-2009 (to account for increased patronage), but leading to a 39.4% increase in the kilometres travelled (during the same time, patronage in terms of trips increased 7.7%). The increased travel distances were mostly considered due to longer rail trips and more trips on long-distance services such as the Northern Busway
.
Despite these strong recent gains, Auckland however still ranks quite low in public transport use , having had only 41 public transport trips per person per year, while Wellington had 91, and Sydney 114. Despite these comparatively low metrics in international comparison, the Auckland Region, with 34% of New Zealand's population, in 2007-08 had 47% of national bus boardings, 37% of national rail boardings, and 93% of national ferry boardings, showing an above-average level of patronage for New Zealand.
The construction of a CBD rail tunnel for an estimated $2 billion, creating several new stations and also improving capacity for trains on all suburban routes, has been argued as the most important future public transport project for Auckland, allowing extra capacity that could provide up to 50 million trips per year on the city's rail lines, about twice the amount possible without it.
network, but this was removed in the 1950s, with the last line closing in late 1956. Ambitious rail transport schemes for the city and region were mooted several times in the 20th century. In the 1950s these were ignored in favour of a Master Transportation Plan emphasising motorways, and the influential De Leuw Carter report of 1965 and the passionate championship of mayors like John Luxford
and Dove-Myer Robinson
could not achieve funding for the proposed rail extensions.
The negative decisions on public transport, such as the removal of the trams for a bus system considered more modern (quickly followed by removal of the tram tracks from the streets), and Auckland authorities not pushing for electrification of the rail network (criticised by some as having been a concession in return for government funding of the Auckland Harbour Bridge
) led to a collapse in rider numbers. From a 1954 average level of 290 public transport trips per person per year (a share of 58% of all motorised trips, also compare to the 41 trips per person per year made in 2009), patronage rapidly decreased. From the record of about 100 million annual passenger trips the numbers fell to about 57 million - a level that fell even further in following decades, notwithstanding Auckland's substantial interim population growth. Even the reduced 57 million level of annual trips was only reached again in the late 2000s.
With the significant sprawl occurring in the following decades, public transport became more and more influenced by the decentralised, relatively low-density urban area, where private motor vehicle transport outpaced public transport. However, the growth of the city and of car use have led to serious traffic problems, which, together with the lack of good public transport, have been cited by many Aucklanders as one of the strongest negative factors in living there. Since car usage costs fall slightly with decreasing urban density while public transport costs rise sharply (even for less capital-intensive services like buses), Auckland's public transport will for the foreseeable future have to cope with a handicap compared to cities of similar population but higher density.
Academic research also places most of the blame on the direction of transport planning, which systematically marginalised public transport improvements and maintenance in favour of US-influenced roads & motorway plans. As part of this declining importance of public transport, in 1983 there were serious plans by the Auckland Regional Authority, the predecessor of Auckland Regional Council
, to abolish the Auckland railway system altogether.
A long history of political lack of interest in public transport had by the 2000s left Auckland with substantially underused and underfunded bus and rail
systems (by 2006, accounting for only 7% of all morning trips), with research at Griffith University
concluding that in the 50-year period from 1955 onwards the Auckland area had engaged in some of the most pro-automobile transport policies anywhere in the world. This is alleged to have been based not on rational (or indeed public) choice alone, but also due to policy tools being strongly weighed to produce favourable results for road projects when assessing transport spending. The Ministry of Economic Development released a working paper assessing the economic benefits for public transport growth in Auckland and suggested a number of key framework issues may be responsible for the decline in Auckland public transport patronage.
As concerns over urban sprawl
and traffic congestion
grew in recent decades public transport has returned to the spotlight, with local and national authorities in agreement that there is "a need for a substantial shift to public transport", though uptake has a long way to grow from 1998 figures of only about 5% mode share. In 2006 mode share had grown to 7%.
and rail infrastructure. Regional authorities have emphasised the need for such improved provisions before measures like road toll
s could be introduced. The government noted in July 2007 that a 'steady growth' [of public transport spending and infrastructure construction] is favoured over the 'rapid growth' proposals advocated by Auckland area leaders such as Papakura District mayor John Robertson, because the associated costs, raised by means like a regional fuel tax, might put too much financial pressure on Auckland.
A number of initiatives, especially by the Auckland Regional Council
(ARC) and ARTA, are trying to change the focus on private cars by stimulating a discussion on intensified growth (higher urban densities). Associated groups like those in the 'Auckland Transport Strategic Alignment Project' (a project of the government and Auckland authorities) have noted that even an eventual completion of an additional harbour crossing and the completion of the Western Ring Route will barely keep up with the expected traffic growth. Further expansions of the roading network beyond those measures would be prohibitively expensive or even impossible, because of "geographical constraints" and "increased community and environmental impacts". Therefore, future traffic growth would need to be covered via public transport.
Critical views
Despite the call for increased density to boost and sustain public transport, Wendell Cox
, a US public policy consultant, has stated that this policy was unrealistic: "Downtown Auckland would need to look like Hong Kong for Auckland Regional Council's [transport] goals to be achieved." Despite the negative perception of public transport, he noted in 2001 that Auckland CBD
"public transport's work trip market share is 31%" compared to Wellington
's 26%. Cox further stated that no other centre in New Zealand achieved as high a market share in public transport as the Auckland City centre, but also noted that CBDs are no longer the dominant employment areas. This qualifies the public transport share of the CBD, as public transport percentages for the whole Auckland Region hover around 5% of all journeys. This figure is comparable to numerous North American and Australian cities.
An article in The New Zealand Herald
by Owen McShane, director of the Centre for Resource Management Studies, notes that large parts of the Auckland Region 'barely have roads, let alone buses', and that comparing Auckland as a whole to metropolitan areas in other parts of the world is misleading. He also criticises public transport use as a sustainability
measure (as promoted by the ARC), arguing that private cars use less energy than buses. This claim, in which he does not detail what bus and car occupancy rates he is using, runs counter to estimates that a bus carrying 19 passengers uses less than a quarter of the energy per person than a typical car carrying one person. ARTA data shows that bus emissions per passenger km for the 2007/08 year were half those of a typical car.
an integrated ticketing
/ smartcard
system will be introduced in Auckland during 2011-2012 by successful tenderer Thales
, similar to systems like Octopus card
in Hong Kong. The new system is also hoped to reduce delays while boarding buses, leading to fewer delays.
The first stage of integrated ticketing is to be functional in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011, with construction works for the 'tag on' / 'tag off' infrastructure having begun in January 2011. The name of the card will be 'HOP Card', with the system to be publicised with a $1 million publicity campaign starting in early 2011.
with the suburbs and the surrounding cities.
Bus services have improved in various ways in recent years, with, for example, 20 new-technology 'Link' city route buses built in 2007 and the introduction of bus rapid transit
on the Northern Busway
(opened January 2008) and the Central Connector
(opened October 2009). However, buses still often suffer from long delays and a bad public image. Bus services generally stop around midnight or earlier, even on Fridays and Saturdays. A limited number of night buses serve Auckland's suburbs from the CBD on Friday and Saturday nights only.
and Newmans, link Auckland with all the main centres in the North Island
. For example, in 2007 services to Hamilton
(the closest large city to the south) depart around 12 times per weekday at variable intervals.
An ARTA study found a number of characteristics typical of Auckland bus transport users:
It also identified some characteristics relevant to the scope for future public transport measures:
Patronage on the 'Northern Express' services from North Shore City into Auckland CBD
has improved markedly; it carried 1.2 million trips in the year ended June 2008 and patronage continues to rise due to the time gains offered by the Northern Busway
. A previous 2008 survey had shown a 34% patronage increase in one year.
s: in Auckland City
there were 27 km in 2008. The Central Connector
bus lane project, which started construction in the middle of 2008, is expected to substantially improve links between Newmarket and the inner city, while bus lanes are also planned on Remuera Road and St Johns Road to connect the city with the Eastern Bays suburbs.
The Northern Busway
in North Shore City may possibly be extended further north, to serve the increasing urbanisation of the northern areas, and may eventually go all the way to Orewa
and the Whangaparaoa peninsula.
The AMETI project will include dedicated bus facilities and lanes.
s services are operated under the MAXX
brand by Veolia
. Since the opening of Britomart Transport Centre
, significant improvements have been made to commuter rail services. In October 2005, Sunday services were reintroduced for the first time in over 40 years, together with a general 25% service frequency increase at the time.
Recent investment has resulted in strongly increased patronage from a low level, with a 1,580% increase from the lowest ebb in 1994. Patronage has increased from 2 million train trips five years ago to over 7 million in 2008, and an expected 9 million in 2010. In March 2010, rail trips reached their highest point since 1955, with 918,000 passengers in one month, 115,000 more than the March of 2009.
Investment has focused on upgrading and refurbishing rolling stock
and railway stations. Some double track
ing to allow higher frequencies has been undertaken, and had resulted in a 25% increase in frequency, and a rise in punctuality (5 minutes late or less) from 60.9% in 2005 to 83.1% in 2006 and 82% in 2008. Reliability has been a problem though and Auckland Regional Council
chairman Mike Lee
has complained that there were over 400 signal
and points
failures in 2009. ARTA have noted that the unreliability was due to the large amount of work being conducted in the rail corridor to upgrade and double-track the rail system, especially on the Western Line. Reliability has since improved.
These names however are not the official names for these railway lines. Britomart to Wellington (via Orakei) is officially part of the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Quay Park Junction to Newmarket is officially the Auckland-Newmarket line, and Westfield Junction to Otiria is officially the North Auckland Line (NAL).
, part of KiwiRail
. It runs daily in summer and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during winter and is mainly tourist-oriented, but in 2008 there were proposals to reintroduce more services and increase emphasis towards regular users.
. Project DART and other current projects include:
ARTA increased peak services to four trains per hour on the core urban network from July 2008, and plans to achieve six per hour from the middle of 2010. Services are also to be extended to after 10 pm during the week in early 2009 and to after 11 pm in 2011.
since the 1920s, some as part of proposals for electrification
of the North Island Main Trunk in its entirety from Auckland to Wellington.
In 2006 the Auckland Regional Transport Authority released a study pointing to a "desperate" need for electrification. The Mayor of Auckland
and the Prime Minister
joined a general agreement culminating in a commitment to electrification, to be partly paid for by a regional fuel tax
. The goals of the upgrade are to raise rail use from 5 million passenger trips in 2007 to 30 million by 2030, with departures every 10 minutes.
The "Core Network Upgrade" project proposed in late 2006 is calculated to cost around NZ$1 billion, and to be completed by 2015. It would include:
, underneath the Auckland CBD
to the Western Line
near Mount Eden Train Station, has been proposed since the 1920s. Proponents argue that it would remove the major capacity restrictions of Britomart (by turning it into a through, rather than a terminus station), allowing more and faster train services for much of the region, as well as providing new impetus for the economy of the city centre by allowing three new train stations. Opponents argue that the costs would be in excess of the high costs (with various estimates of the 2010s ranging from $1-2 billion).
As of mid 2011, Auckland Council
strongly supports proceeding with the tunnel, while National government (which would likely have to fund at least part of the cost to enable the project to proceed) remains sceptical.
Ferries also connect the city with Rangitoto
and Waiheke Island
s, and Half Moon Bay
and Pine Harbour (both in Manukau City). Ferries to Great Barrier Island
are less frequent, with four-hour passages every 1–2 days, depending on the time of the year and the weather. Weekend ferries operate to other islands in the Hauraki Gulf, mainly for tourists.
There are no ferry services on the west coast of Auckland and none are planned (although there have been some historical services from Onehunga
) as the city's waterfront orientation is much stronger towards the eastern Waitemata Harbour
than to the western Manukau Harbour
.
The main ferry operator, Fullers Group, transports around 4.7 million passengers a year (2010/11) on 42,010 sailings, an average of around 100 passengers per sailing.
Pending acceptance of the Draft Annual Plan 2008/2009 and funding being available as forecast and/or proposed, the Auckland Regional Council
is intending to increase services to Half Moon Bay, Pine Harbour, West Harbour and Devonport from 2008, Gulf Harbour and Stanley Beach from 2009. A new ferry wharf is planned for Beach Haven in 2009, and one at Hobsonville in 2010.
ferry operators and a seventh of those in Sydney.
. An underground link between the two, to allow easier road crossing and protection from bad weather, has been planned but not built due to cost reasons.
There are ferry terminals at Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater, Northcote Point, Birkenhead, Half Moon Bay, West Harbour, Pine Harbour and Gulf Harbour, and on the Hauraki Gulf islands.
The Auckland Regional Transport Network (ARTNL), then responsible for building Auckland's passenger transport terminals, in 2005-2006 invested $NZ20 million in upgrades to ferry terminals, and is trying to improve the problem of parking, especially at terminals catering for commuters to the Auckland CBD
- but is limited by parking being the authority of local councils and that new parking would be hard to provide unless by provision of new parking buildings. ARTNL noted that while ferry services were often full, a combination of low profits and uncertainty about losing services to other bidders has made providers reluctant to invest the large sums necessary for new ferries.
The local government elections in September 2004 centred largely around candidates' policies on public transport, with the incumbent Auckland mayor John Banks
promoting the "Eastern Corridor" motorway plan, and his main rivals (former mayor Christine Fletcher
and businessman Dick Hubbard
, the eventual winner) supporting public transport alternatives like light rail and improving existing bus and rail services.
, currently a major barrier for traffic, and currently bridged by the Auckland Harbour Bridge
. Proposed bridge or tunnel options included substantial provision for public transport, including for light rail, with some proposing to keep the new crossing reserved solely for public transport.
Commentators like Brian Rudman
have noted that it would make the most sense for a possible new crossing to be dedicated to public transport
only, possibly connecting with a rail tunnel from the Western Reclamation
to Britomart Transport Centre
, providing an alternate way of making Britomart a through station.
In 2008 it was decided to shortlist the harbour crossing options to the general Auckland waterfront
area, and it was announced that due to the reduction in costs for the boring of multiple small tunnels compared to single large ones it was likely that public transport would receive a dedicated tunnel, with potential for light or heavy rail.
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, the largest metropolitan area of New Zealand, consists of three modes – bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
, train and ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
. Services are provided under the "MAXX" brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
by private transport providers, coordinated by Auckland Transport, the council controlled organisation that replaced the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA). Britomart
Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
is the main transportation hub
Transportation hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...
.
Historically Auckland was well served by public transport, but an extensive Auckland tram system
Trams in New Zealand
Trams in New Zealand were a major form of transport from the 19th century into the mid 20th century. New Zealand's first tramway was established in 1862 , followed by a steam tramway in 1871 , and the first electric tramway in 1900 . The tram systems in the main centres, and in some smaller towns,...
was dismantled in the 1950s, which, together with the decision not to electrify the rail network and competition from significant funding in the motorway system, led to a collapse in both mode share
Modal share
Modal share, Mode split or Modal split, is a traffic / transport term that describes the number of trips or percentage of travelers using a particular type of transportation....
and total trips. Major projects have been undertaken in recent years to improve public transport, both smaller-scale initiatives such as bus priority measures and large-scale bus and rail infrastructure projects. Public transport use grew by 4.4% over all modes in the year to June 2008 (with rail passenger up 18.4%), and later accelerated even more, growing by 8.3 percent in the year to February 2011 (with rail passengers up 17.9%), with Auckland for the first time reaching 1950s overall numbers again.
There have also been significant gains in the distances travelled by public transport in the Auckland Region, with an associated improvement in subsidy efficiency - with subsidy totals rising 14% in 2008-2009 (to account for increased patronage), but leading to a 39.4% increase in the kilometres travelled (during the same time, patronage in terms of trips increased 7.7%). The increased travel distances were mostly considered due to longer rail trips and more trips on long-distance services such as the Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
.
Despite these strong recent gains, Auckland however still ranks quite low in public transport use , having had only 41 public transport trips per person per year, while Wellington had 91, and Sydney 114. Despite these comparatively low metrics in international comparison, the Auckland Region, with 34% of New Zealand's population, in 2007-08 had 47% of national bus boardings, 37% of national rail boardings, and 93% of national ferry boardings, showing an above-average level of patronage for New Zealand.
The construction of a CBD rail tunnel for an estimated $2 billion, creating several new stations and also improving capacity for trains on all suburban routes, has been argued as the most important future public transport project for Auckland, allowing extra capacity that could provide up to 50 million trips per year on the city's rail lines, about twice the amount possible without it.
Declining use
Auckland had an extensive tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
network, but this was removed in the 1950s, with the last line closing in late 1956. Ambitious rail transport schemes for the city and region were mooted several times in the 20th century. In the 1950s these were ignored in favour of a Master Transportation Plan emphasising motorways, and the influential De Leuw Carter report of 1965 and the passionate championship of mayors like John Luxford
John Luxford
John Hector Luxford was a New Zealand lawyer and Mayor of Auckland City from 1953 to 1956.Born in Palmerston North, he qualified as a solicitor in 1913 and a barrister in 1919. He practised in Te Awamutu, Hamilton and Auckland. He was Chief Judge in Samoa 1929-35 and a magistrate in Auckland 1941-51...
and Dove-Myer Robinson
Dove-Myer Robinson
Sir Dove-Myer Robinson was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office....
could not achieve funding for the proposed rail extensions.
The negative decisions on public transport, such as the removal of the trams for a bus system considered more modern (quickly followed by removal of the tram tracks from the streets), and Auckland authorities not pushing for electrification of the rail network (criticised by some as having been a concession in return for government funding of the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway...
) led to a collapse in rider numbers. From a 1954 average level of 290 public transport trips per person per year (a share of 58% of all motorised trips, also compare to the 41 trips per person per year made in 2009), patronage rapidly decreased. From the record of about 100 million annual passenger trips the numbers fell to about 57 million - a level that fell even further in following decades, notwithstanding Auckland's substantial interim population growth. Even the reduced 57 million level of annual trips was only reached again in the late 2000s.
With the significant sprawl occurring in the following decades, public transport became more and more influenced by the decentralised, relatively low-density urban area, where private motor vehicle transport outpaced public transport. However, the growth of the city and of car use have led to serious traffic problems, which, together with the lack of good public transport, have been cited by many Aucklanders as one of the strongest negative factors in living there. Since car usage costs fall slightly with decreasing urban density while public transport costs rise sharply (even for less capital-intensive services like buses), Auckland's public transport will for the foreseeable future have to cope with a handicap compared to cities of similar population but higher density.
Academic research also places most of the blame on the direction of transport planning, which systematically marginalised public transport improvements and maintenance in favour of US-influenced roads & motorway plans. As part of this declining importance of public transport, in 1983 there were serious plans by the Auckland Regional Authority, the predecessor of Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
, to abolish the Auckland railway system altogether.
A long history of political lack of interest in public transport had by the 2000s left Auckland with substantially underused and underfunded bus and rail
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
systems (by 2006, accounting for only 7% of all morning trips), with research at Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
concluding that in the 50-year period from 1955 onwards the Auckland area had engaged in some of the most pro-automobile transport policies anywhere in the world. This is alleged to have been based not on rational (or indeed public) choice alone, but also due to policy tools being strongly weighed to produce favourable results for road projects when assessing transport spending. The Ministry of Economic Development released a working paper assessing the economic benefits for public transport growth in Auckland and suggested a number of key framework issues may be responsible for the decline in Auckland public transport patronage.
As concerns over urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
and traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
grew in recent decades public transport has returned to the spotlight, with local and national authorities in agreement that there is "a need for a substantial shift to public transport", though uptake has a long way to grow from 1998 figures of only about 5% mode share. In 2006 mode share had grown to 7%.
New emphasis
The gap between desired and provided public transport options is being countered by large new investments in bus priorityBus priority
Bus priority or transit signal priority is a name for various techniques to speed up bus public transport services at intersections with traffic signals amongst other methods. Trams and light rail vehicles can also be given priority...
and rail infrastructure. Regional authorities have emphasised the need for such improved provisions before measures like road toll
Road toll
Road toll is the term used in some countries for the number of deaths caused annually by road accidents.The term is in common and official use in Australia and New Zealand.-Australia:In Australia the road toll is reported at a state level...
s could be introduced. The government noted in July 2007 that a 'steady growth' [of public transport spending and infrastructure construction] is favoured over the 'rapid growth' proposals advocated by Auckland area leaders such as Papakura District mayor John Robertson, because the associated costs, raised by means like a regional fuel tax, might put too much financial pressure on Auckland.
A number of initiatives, especially by the Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
(ARC) and ARTA, are trying to change the focus on private cars by stimulating a discussion on intensified growth (higher urban densities). Associated groups like those in the 'Auckland Transport Strategic Alignment Project' (a project of the government and Auckland authorities) have noted that even an eventual completion of an additional harbour crossing and the completion of the Western Ring Route will barely keep up with the expected traffic growth. Further expansions of the roading network beyond those measures would be prohibitively expensive or even impossible, because of "geographical constraints" and "increased community and environmental impacts". Therefore, future traffic growth would need to be covered via public transport.
Critical views
Despite the call for increased density to boost and sustain public transport, Wendell Cox
Wendell Cox
Wendell Cox is an international public policy consultant. He is the principal and sole owner of Wendell Cox Consultancy/Demographia, based in the St. Louis metropolitan region and editor of three web sites, Demographia, The Public Purpose and Urban Tours by Rental Car...
, a US public policy consultant, has stated that this policy was unrealistic: "Downtown Auckland would need to look like Hong Kong for Auckland Regional Council's [transport] goals to be achieved." Despite the negative perception of public transport, he noted in 2001 that Auckland CBD
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
"public transport's work trip market share is 31%" compared to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
's 26%. Cox further stated that no other centre in New Zealand achieved as high a market share in public transport as the Auckland City centre, but also noted that CBDs are no longer the dominant employment areas. This qualifies the public transport share of the CBD, as public transport percentages for the whole Auckland Region hover around 5% of all journeys. This figure is comparable to numerous North American and Australian cities.
An article in The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald
- External links :* * *...
by Owen McShane, director of the Centre for Resource Management Studies, notes that large parts of the Auckland Region 'barely have roads, let alone buses', and that comparing Auckland as a whole to metropolitan areas in other parts of the world is misleading. He also criticises public transport use as a sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
measure (as promoted by the ARC), arguing that private cars use less energy than buses. This claim, in which he does not detail what bus and car occupancy rates he is using, runs counter to estimates that a bus carrying 19 passengers uses less than a quarter of the energy per person than a typical car carrying one person. ARTA data shows that bus emissions per passenger km for the 2007/08 year were half those of a typical car.
Systems
Currently, Auckland public transport services are a mixture of private (commercially-operated) and subsidised services (also run by private operators)Bus services
- NZ Bus (Northstar, Metrolink, Waka Pacific, Go West, Link)
- RichiesRitchies CoachlinesRitchies Transport Holdings Ltd was established in 1972 and describes itself on its website as "the largest privately owned bus and coach transport operator in New Zealand" with a fleet of "over 600" vehicles spread across depots nationwide....
(also operates Northern Express Services on the Northern BuswayNorthern Busway, Aucklandthumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
) - Howick and Eastern
- Birkenhead Transport
- Urban Express
- Airbus Express (City to Airport every 15 mins)
Rail service
- Veolia operates the trains on behalf of Auckland Transport with the trains and stations belonging to Auckland Transport and the rail infrastructure belonging to KiwiRailKiwiRailKiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...
.
Integrated ticketing
Due to the lack of integration, changing modes or even bus services generally incurs the penalty of having to purchase a new ticket, with associated extra transactions and increased prices. However, as part of a push by ARTA and NZTANew Zealand Transport Agency
The New Zealand Transport Agency is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing and investigating rail accidents. It was created on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment...
an integrated ticketing
Integrated ticketing
Integrated ticketing allows a person to make a journey that involves transfers within or between different transport modes with a single ticket that is valid for the complete journey, modes being buses, trains, subways, ferries, etc...
/ smartcard
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
system will be introduced in Auckland during 2011-2012 by successful tenderer Thales
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
, similar to systems like Octopus card
Octopus card
The Octopus card is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong...
in Hong Kong. The new system is also hoped to reduce delays while boarding buses, leading to fewer delays.
The first stage of integrated ticketing is to be functional in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011, with construction works for the 'tag on' / 'tag off' infrastructure having begun in January 2011. The name of the card will be 'HOP Card', with the system to be publicised with a $1 million publicity campaign starting in early 2011.
Buses
Urban services
Bus services provide the bulk of public transport and are mostly operated by NZ Bus, formerly Stagecoach New Zealand, with some buses are still in the old livery . Bus routes are mainly radial lines connecting Auckland CBDAuckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
with the suburbs and the surrounding cities.
Bus services have improved in various ways in recent years, with, for example, 20 new-technology 'Link' city route buses built in 2007 and the introduction of bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
on the Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
(opened January 2008) and the Central Connector
Central Connector, Auckland
The Central Connector , is a bus rapid transit link between Britomart Transport Centre in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, and the commercial suburb of Newmarket. It is to improve journey times by about 14 minutes for around to 2,600 buses per week, about 65,000 passengers daily...
(opened October 2009). However, buses still often suffer from long delays and a bad public image. Bus services generally stop around midnight or earlier, even on Fridays and Saturdays. A limited number of night buses serve Auckland's suburbs from the CBD on Friday and Saturday nights only.
Long-distance services
Long-distance bus operators, including IntercityIntercity (New Zealand)
InterCity Group Ltd is a passenger transport and tourism company and operates New Zealand's largest coach network and ferries and cruises in the Bay of Islands...
and Newmans, link Auckland with all the main centres in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. For example, in 2007 services to Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
(the closest large city to the south) depart around 12 times per weekday at variable intervals.
User statistics
After a ridership plateau of just over 46 million bus trips per year in 2003, usage volumes fell for three years to 42.18 million trips in the year ended June 2006, before rising again to 43.23 million in the year ended June 2008, and to over 50 million for the year ending February 2011. Users were also found to be taking longer rides, which reduced the subsidy per passenger kilometer.An ARTA study found a number of characteristics typical of Auckland bus transport users:
- 58% were female
- 50% were white-collar workers
- 23% were tertiary students
It also identified some characteristics relevant to the scope for future public transport measures:
- 71% had other transport available (such as private vehicles)
- 37% wanted service frequencies to be increased
Patronage on the 'Northern Express' services from North Shore City into Auckland CBD
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
has improved markedly; it carried 1.2 million trips in the year ended June 2008 and patronage continues to rise due to the time gains offered by the Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
. A previous 2008 survey had shown a 34% patronage increase in one year.
Priority measures
Auckland has a slowly growing network of bus laneBus lane
A bus lane or bus only lane is a lane restricted to buses, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion...
s: in Auckland City
Auckland City
Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...
there were 27 km in 2008. The Central Connector
Central Connector, Auckland
The Central Connector , is a bus rapid transit link between Britomart Transport Centre in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, and the commercial suburb of Newmarket. It is to improve journey times by about 14 minutes for around to 2,600 buses per week, about 65,000 passengers daily...
bus lane project, which started construction in the middle of 2008, is expected to substantially improve links between Newmarket and the inner city, while bus lanes are also planned on Remuera Road and St Johns Road to connect the city with the Eastern Bays suburbs.
The Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
in North Shore City may possibly be extended further north, to serve the increasing urbanisation of the northern areas, and may eventually go all the way to Orewa
Orewa
Orewa, a town in New Zealand's North Island lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. Orewa's population was 7,326 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 1,692 from 2001. It is a popular holiday destination...
and the Whangaparaoa peninsula.
The AMETI project will include dedicated bus facilities and lanes.
Trains
Urban services
Auckland's urban trainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s services are operated under the MAXX
MAXX Blue (livery)
thumb|Passengers board a MAXX branded Northern Express operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]] on the [[Northern Busway, Auckland|Northern Busway]]....
brand by Veolia
Veolia (New Zealand)
Veolia Transport Auckland, formerly Connex Auckland Ltd, is a division of Australasia's largest passenger train company, French-owned Veolia. It runs Auckland's urban passenger trains under contract from Auckland Transport under their MAXX brand, on infrastructure owned and managed by KiwiRail...
. Since the opening of Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
, significant improvements have been made to commuter rail services. In October 2005, Sunday services were reintroduced for the first time in over 40 years, together with a general 25% service frequency increase at the time.
Recent investment has resulted in strongly increased patronage from a low level, with a 1,580% increase from the lowest ebb in 1994. Patronage has increased from 2 million train trips five years ago to over 7 million in 2008, and an expected 9 million in 2010. In March 2010, rail trips reached their highest point since 1955, with 918,000 passengers in one month, 115,000 more than the March of 2009.
Investment has focused on upgrading and refurbishing rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
and railway stations. Some double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
ing to allow higher frequencies has been undertaken, and had resulted in a 25% increase in frequency, and a rise in punctuality (5 minutes late or less) from 60.9% in 2005 to 83.1% in 2006 and 82% in 2008. Reliability has been a problem though and Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
chairman Mike Lee
Mike Lee (New Zealand politician)
Michael Lee is a councillor on the Auckland Council and the former chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, both in Auckland, New Zealand...
has complained that there were over 400 signal
Railway signal
A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
and points
Railroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
failures in 2009. ARTA have noted that the unreliability was due to the large amount of work being conducted in the rail corridor to upgrade and double-track the rail system, especially on the Western Line. Reliability has since improved.
Main lines
There are four main commuter rail lines:- The Southern lineSouthern Line, AucklandThe Southern Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to suburban train services that operate between Britomart and Pukekohe via Newmarket.-Routing:...
from Britomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
to Papakura Train StationPapakura Train StationPapakura Railway Station is on the Eastern and Southern Lines of the Auckland railway network.- Station Design :It features an island platform between the main lines, complete with original wooden station building and signal panel, and a suburban side platform to the west.- Services :This station...
via Newmarket Train StationNewmarket Train Station, AucklandNewmarket Train Station is located in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Newmarket, on the Southern and Western Lines of the Auckland railway network. Serving the busy commercial centre of Newmarket, the station is the second-busiest train station in Auckland, after Britomart...
, with a limited number of trains continuing to Pukekohe Train StationPukekohe Train StationPukekohe Railway Station is the southern terminus of the Eastern and Southern Lines of the Auckland railway network. It has an island platform between the main lines and an original wooden station building complete with signal panel....
(PukekohePukekohePukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...
).
- The Eastern lineEastern Line, AucklandThe Eastern Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to Auckland suburban part of the North Island Main Trunk. Suburban services are operated by Veolia under the MAXX brand...
from Britomart to Papakura via the waterfront and Orakei Train StationOrakei Train StationOrakei Train Station in the Auckland suburb of Orakei is located on the Eastern Line of the Auckland railway network. It has an island platform layout and can be reached by an overbridge from Orakei Road. It is backed by a carpark and a shopping complex....
(OrakeiOrakeiOrakei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, close to the shore of the Waitemata Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and the Orakei Basin, two arms of the Waitemata, which lie to...
), with a limited number of trains continuing to Pukekohe. The line joins the Southern Line southwards at Westfield.
- The Western lineWestern Line, AucklandThe Western Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to suburban services that operate between Britomart and Waitakere via Newmarket.-Routing:...
from Britomart via Newmarket to the west via New Lynn Train StationNew Lynn Train StationNew Lynn Train Station is on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network, New Zealand, and is part of an integrated transport centre where transfers can be made to and from bus services. A redeveloped station in a new rail trench was opened on 25 September 2010...
(New Lynn) before terminating in at Swanson Train StationSwanson Train StationSwanson Train Station is located on the Western Line of the Auckland Railway Network.-History:* 1920: A signal box was established here.* 1925: The signal box was destroyed by fire following a lighting strike....
(SwansonSwansonSwanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American market. The TV dinner business is currently owned by Pinnacle Foods, while the broth business is currently owned by the Campbell Soup Company...
) or Waitakere Train StationWaitakere Train StationWaitakere Railway Station is located in the Waitakere suburb/village at the end of the Western Line of the Auckland Suburban Network in New Zealand and is currently the terminus for most Western Line services....
(Waitakere City). The double-tracking of this line, begun in 2004 under the ARCAuckland Regional CouncilThe Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
, was completed in 2010.
- The Onehunga Line from Britomart to Onehunga via Newmarket and Penrose. The line was reopened on the 18th of September 2010 and passenger services commenced the next day.
These names however are not the official names for these railway lines. Britomart to Wellington (via Orakei) is officially part of the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Quay Park Junction to Newmarket is officially the Auckland-Newmarket line, and Westfield Junction to Otiria is officially the North Auckland Line (NAL).
Long-distance services
Auckland has only one long-distance passenger train, the Overlander to Wellington, operated by Tranz ScenicTranz Scenic
Tranz Scenic is the long-distance passenger train brand of KiwiRail, formed from the New Zealand Railways Corporation InterCity Rail services. Tranz Scenic was renamed along with the other operating divisions of Tranz Rail in 1995...
, part of KiwiRail
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...
. It runs daily in summer and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during winter and is mainly tourist-oriented, but in 2008 there were proposals to reintroduce more services and increase emphasis towards regular users.
Current and recent upgrades
Since 2008, a NZ$600 million upgrading project named "DART" (Developing Auckland's Rail Transport) is underway, managed by the state-owned enterprise ONTRACKOnTrack
OnTrack was a regional rail line that operated in Syracuse, New York from 1994 to 2007. During its operation, Syracuse was the smallest city in the United States to have regional train service. The line ran from Colvin Street on the city's south side via Syracuse University and Armory Square to the...
. Project DART and other current projects include:
- double-tracking the Western Line (completed in 2010)
- upgrading stations and signalling (ongoing)
- rebuilding and reconfiguring Newmarket Train StationNewmarket Train Station, AucklandNewmarket Train Station is located in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Newmarket, on the Southern and Western Lines of the Auckland railway network. Serving the busy commercial centre of Newmarket, the station is the second-busiest train station in Auckland, after Britomart...
to cater better for the growing importance of the area and improve transfers between the Western and Southern lines (completed 2010) - constructing a new branch line from Wiri to Manukau city centre, the first fully new track in Auckland for decades (ongoing)
- reopening the disused Onehunga Branch line for passengers (reopened September 2010)
- extension of a peak Western Line service to HelensvilleHelensville, New ZealandHelensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited 40 kilometres northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku 16 km to the south, and Kaukapakapa about 12 km to the...
in 2008, with temporary stations at Huapai and Waimaukau, and a minor upgrade of Helensville station - more rebuilt carriage trains, powered by DC classNZR DC classThe NZR DC class locomotive is the most common class of locomotive currently in operation on the New Zealand rail network. Primarily employed to haul freight trains operated by KiwiRail, the class is also used for long-distance passenger trains operated by Tranz Scenic and suburban passenger trains...
diesel locomotives in push-pull mode.
ARTA increased peak services to four trains per hour on the core urban network from July 2008, and plans to achieve six per hour from the middle of 2010. Services are also to be extended to after 10 pm during the week in early 2009 and to after 11 pm in 2011.
Electrification and core upgrade
There have been a number of proposals recommending electrification of the Auckland rail networkAuckland Railway electrification
The Auckland railway electrification has been proposed for several decades, but physical works only began in the late 2000s. After investment into new infrastructure and improved services created massive patronage gains on Auckland's commuter rail network in the middle 2000s, the long-discussed...
since the 1920s, some as part of proposals for electrification
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
of the North Island Main Trunk in its entirety from Auckland to Wellington.
In 2006 the Auckland Regional Transport Authority released a study pointing to a "desperate" need for electrification. The Mayor of Auckland
Mayor of Auckland
The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...
and the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
joined a general agreement culminating in a commitment to electrification, to be partly paid for by a regional fuel tax
Fuel tax
A fuel tax is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation...
. The goals of the upgrade are to raise rail use from 5 million passenger trips in 2007 to 30 million by 2030, with departures every 10 minutes.
The "Core Network Upgrade" project proposed in late 2006 is calculated to cost around NZ$1 billion, and to be completed by 2015. It would include:
- electrification and further upgrading (beyond project DART) of 110 km of Auckland railway infrastructure
- further station upgrades
- new electric rolling stock
- better service frequencies
Further proposed upgrades
There has been growing recognition throughout Auckland over the past years of the need to invest in public transport to help ease growing traffic congestion. A number of extensions to the rail network have been proposed, for a potential target of 30 million train trips per year (over four times the 2008 level), though some have been discussed for several decades:- a central city underground railwayUnderground railwayUnderground railway may refer to:*The Underground Railroad, a network of clandestine routes by which African slaves in the 19th century United States attempted to escape*Rapid transit, urban railways that sometimes use tunnels...
loop linking Britomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
with Mt Eden via a tunnel underneath Albert Street (see below) - an extension of the Onehunga Branch line to Auckland International AirportAuckland International AirportAuckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand with over 13 million passengers a year, expected to more than double by 2025...
over the future duplicate Mangere BridgeMangere BridgeMangere Bridge, officially also called the Manukau Harbour Crossing, is a motorway bridge over the Manukau Harbour in south-western Auckland, New Zealand, crossing between the suburb also known as Mangere Bridge and the suburb of Onehunga...
, which Transit New ZealandTransit New ZealandTransit New Zealand was, from 1989 to 2008, the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand State Highway network...
has recently announced as being 'future proofed' to allow it to potentially accommodate a rail line. - an airport link from the North Island Main Trunk line at Manukau City, in addition to or instead of the link via Mangere Bridge
- extension of both electrification and of commuter services to PukekohePukekohePukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...
and eventually to HamiltonHamilton, New ZealandHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
(the NIMT is already electrified south from Te RapaTe RapaTe Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of central Hamilton, New Zealand.Stretching in a long, thin north-south axis, Te Rapa is home to a large number of factories including Te Rapa Dairy Factory, one of the largest of its kind in the world...
) allowing inter-city service to operate at higher frequencies and at modern standards - a line between Southdown and AvondaleAvondale - Southdown LineThe Avondale–Southdown Line is a proposed railway line between Avondale and Southdown in Auckland, New Zealand. One of its main functions would be to remove north–south freight trains from the section of the Auckland rail system that has most passenger traffic...
in west Auckland, primarily for freight trains to avoid Newmarket and reduce delays for both freight and passenger trains. The motorway New Zealand State Highway 20 being constructed through southern Auckland City is being built in a rail reserve, and the earthworks and overbridges will include provision for the future railway line. - a suggestion to extend rail across Waitemata Harbour to the North Shore (see Second Harbour Crossing below)
- possible conversion of the Northern BuswayNorthern Busway, Aucklandthumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
to light railLight railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
Underground city link
A city centre tunnel, likely to go from Britomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
, underneath the Auckland CBD
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
to the Western Line
Western Line, Auckland
The Western Line in Auckland, New Zealand is the name given to suburban services that operate between Britomart and Waitakere via Newmarket.-Routing:...
near Mount Eden Train Station, has been proposed since the 1920s. Proponents argue that it would remove the major capacity restrictions of Britomart (by turning it into a through, rather than a terminus station), allowing more and faster train services for much of the region, as well as providing new impetus for the economy of the city centre by allowing three new train stations. Opponents argue that the costs would be in excess of the high costs (with various estimates of the 2010s ranging from $1-2 billion).
As of mid 2011, Auckland Council
Auckland Council
The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
strongly supports proceeding with the tunnel, while National government (which would likely have to fund at least part of the cost to enable the project to proceed) remains sceptical.
Ferries
Services
A feature of Auckland transport is the popularity of commuting by ferry. A substantial minority of North Shore commuters avoid the chronic Harbour Bridge congestion by catching ferries from Devonport, Bayswater, Birkenhead/Northcote Point or Stanley Bay to the CBD. The ferries operate at least hourly, with longer hours of operation than many of Auckland's bus routes and railway lines.Ferries also connect the city with Rangitoto
Rangitoto Island
Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The 5.5 km wide island is an iconic and widely visible landmark of Auckland with its distinctive symmetrical shield volcano cone rising 260 metres high over the Hauraki Gulf...
and Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, located about from Auckland.The island is the second-largest in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island. It is the most populated, with nearly 8,000 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes...
s, and Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, Auckland
Half Moon Bay is a coastal suburb located immediately south of Bucklands Beach in Manukau City, Auckland, New Zealand.It is well known for the Half Moon Bay Marina, home to over 500 boats...
and Pine Harbour (both in Manukau City). Ferries to Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...
are less frequent, with four-hour passages every 1–2 days, depending on the time of the year and the weather. Weekend ferries operate to other islands in the Hauraki Gulf, mainly for tourists.
There are no ferry services on the west coast of Auckland and none are planned (although there have been some historical services from Onehunga
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is eight kilometres south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of One Tree Hill, Maungakiekie....
) as the city's waterfront orientation is much stronger towards the eastern Waitemata Harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
than to the western Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and is an arm of the Tasman Sea.-Geography:...
.
The main ferry operator, Fullers Group, transports around 4.7 million passengers a year (2010/11) on 42,010 sailings, an average of around 100 passengers per sailing.
Pending acceptance of the Draft Annual Plan 2008/2009 and funding being available as forecast and/or proposed, the Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
is intending to increase services to Half Moon Bay, Pine Harbour, West Harbour and Devonport from 2008, Gulf Harbour and Stanley Beach from 2009. A new ferry wharf is planned for Beach Haven in 2009, and one at Hobsonville in 2010.
Subsidies
Fullers Group has noted that Auckland ferry services are operating well for their low level of Council subsidy of around 84c per passenger and journey, half the subsidy of BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
ferry operators and a seventh of those in Sydney.
Terminals
The Auckland Ferry Terminal is in downtown Auckland on Quay Street, between Princes Wharf and the container port, directly opposite Britomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
. An underground link between the two, to allow easier road crossing and protection from bad weather, has been planned but not built due to cost reasons.
There are ferry terminals at Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater, Northcote Point, Birkenhead, Half Moon Bay, West Harbour, Pine Harbour and Gulf Harbour, and on the Hauraki Gulf islands.
The Auckland Regional Transport Network (ARTNL), then responsible for building Auckland's passenger transport terminals, in 2005-2006 invested $NZ20 million in upgrades to ferry terminals, and is trying to improve the problem of parking, especially at terminals catering for commuters to the Auckland CBD
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
- but is limited by parking being the authority of local councils and that new parking would be hard to provide unless by provision of new parking buildings. ARTNL noted that while ferry services were often full, a combination of low profits and uncertainty about losing services to other bidders has made providers reluctant to invest the large sums necessary for new ferries.
Britomart Transport Centre
Opened in July 2003, Britomart is a central hub for public transport in Auckland - buses at ground level, trains underground in a terminal station and ferries close by. During its planning period it provoked much controversy spanning multiple mayoral terms, mostly for cost and capacity reasons. New rail transport investment in the Auckland Region, both planned and recently started, will increase the importance of the centre.The local government elections in September 2004 centred largely around candidates' policies on public transport, with the incumbent Auckland mayor John Banks
John Banks (New Zealand)
John Archibald Banks, CNZM QSO is a New Zealand politician. He served as Mayor of Auckland City for two terms, from 2001 to 2004, and from 2007 to 2010...
promoting the "Eastern Corridor" motorway plan, and his main rivals (former mayor Christine Fletcher
Christine Fletcher
Christine Fletcher, QSO is an Auckland Council councillor and also prominent for her former New Zealand politics positions, both in Parliament and as Mayor of Auckland City. She was the second woman to serve as mayor of Auckland...
and businessman Dick Hubbard
Dick Hubbard
Richard "Dick" John Hubbard ONZM, DSc is a New Zealand businessman and politician, founder and principal of Hubbards Foods in Auckland, and Mayor of Auckland City from 2004 to 2007. His management of Hubbard Foods gained some prominence for its participation in and promotion of socially...
, the eventual winner) supporting public transport alternatives like light rail and improving existing bus and rail services.
Second Harbour Crossing
During 2007, various plans were mooted to build a second crossing over the Waitemata HarbourWaitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
, currently a major barrier for traffic, and currently bridged by the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway...
. Proposed bridge or tunnel options included substantial provision for public transport, including for light rail, with some proposing to keep the new crossing reserved solely for public transport.
Commentators like Brian Rudman
Brian Rudman
Brian Rudman is a journalist and regular editorial contributor to The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand's largest daily newspaper. He has his own column, 'Rudman's City', where he mainly focuses on issues relating to Auckland , its growth, public projects, policies and politicians...
have noted that it would make the most sense for a possible new crossing to be dedicated to public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
only, possibly connecting with a rail tunnel from the Western Reclamation
Western Reclamation
The Wynyard Quarter is a reclaimed piece of land on the Waitemata Harbour at the western edge of the Auckland waterfront, New Zealand....
to Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
, providing an alternate way of making Britomart a through station.
In 2008 it was decided to shortlist the harbour crossing options to the general Auckland waterfront
Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitemata Harbour coastline in Auckland City, New Zealand...
area, and it was announced that due to the reduction in costs for the boring of multiple small tunnels compared to single large ones it was likely that public transport would receive a dedicated tunnel, with potential for light or heavy rail.
Public advocacy
Groups like the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) aim to be advocates for alternatives to the private car, including public transport, cycling and walking. The CBT is both a successor to the former 'Campaign for Public Transport' and a new umbrella group.See also
- List of Auckland railway stations
- Transport in AucklandTransport in AucklandTransport in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, is defined by various factors, among them the shape of the Auckland isthmus , the suburban character of much of the Auckland area and the large car-ownership ratio of New Zealanders.These factors have resulted in a mostly...
- Public transport in New ZealandPublic transport in New ZealandPublic transport in New Zealand exists in many of the country's urban areas, and takes a number of forms. Bus transport is the main form of public transport. Two major cities, Auckland and Wellington, also have suburban rail systems which have been gaining more patronage and new investment in...
External links
- MAXX Auckland Regional Transport website (timetable and services / transport options information)
- Auckland Trasnport (website of the region's local government transport body)
- ONTRACK New Zealand Railways Corporation (Rere Totika), the government rail owner
- Auckland Transport Discussion, an online forum of the Campaign For Better Transport