Public transport usage in Auckland is projected to rise by 50% over the next seven years, but planners say they want patronage ambitions to be even greater.
As transport shapes up to be a key election issue, the city transport agency's new Regional Public Transport Plan proposes that most Aucklanders will soon live a short walk away from a bus or train — arriving at least every 15 minutes.
But the transport plan — unlike some others released recently — is intended to be funded using current budget projections. 1News spoke to one of the AT's principal public transport planners about the changes coming in the next few years.
Luke Elliot, who led the design of the plan, said AT was funded to be able to double patronage from 70 million boardings projected this year to 150 million by 2031.
But the organisation's chief executive had set a target of returning to pre-pandemic levels of ridership within the next year — around 100 million trips.
"If we do manage to do that, then essentially, we'll kind of rebase the rest of those targets — so in 2031, we might be closer to 180 million," the planner said.
Elliot suggested the plan's proposed changes to existing bus services, more trains with the opening of the City Rail Link, and other infrastructure changes would drive growth.
Additionally, AT wants to introduce a new weekly fare cap that would allow for unlimited travel at a fixed price. Meanwhile, the driver shortage that had crippled much of the network in the past two years is expected to be fixed in the next few months.
More buses, coming soon
A focus for AT includes expanding its "frequent network" — the "core" of the city's public transport, which means buses and trains at least every 15 minutes all day, and on weekends, instead of primarily focusing on rush hour.
Many of Auckland's existing suburban bus routes currently run at only half-hourly or hourly frequencies outside of rush hour.
"With a car, you can go whenever you want. The more frequent the bus, the closer it is to that experience of, 'Oh, I can just go now, and I won't have to wait long,'" Elliot said.
With services being upgraded, the number of Aucklanders living within a 500-metre walk of a high-frequency bus or train will increase from 40% to 57%, according to AT.
Frequent buses are also planned to provide service for three new train stations in Drury being built by KiwiRail on the outskirts of the city, whilst existing suburbs with more housing intensification would also be prioritised for upgrades, according to Elliot.
The planner gave an example in Northcote, seven kilometres north of the city centre, where hundreds of new homes have already been built, and thousands more are planned — including through several six-to-eight-storey apartment blocks.
The new Northcote town centre would see its local half-hourly bus connecting it to Takapuna and Birkenhead upgraded — but only by 2027, according to the plan.
When queried, Elliot said the upgrade wasn't happening sooner as AT had to prioritise funding to target more crowded services in other parts of the city — whilst the existing bus was still available for the residents that had already moved in.
"We have to kind of balance what's the right sort of frequency to put in, in the early days of the development, to ensure that there is an option there for people with the available funding that we have," he said.
Changes are also proposed to Auckland's ferry services in the plan with some improvements, but also the removal of the long-distance Gulf Harbour Ferry.
New pop-up bus lanes being explored
Elliot suggested there is a "big focus" on improving AT's bus priority, in order to get public transport out of gridlock traffic.
Introducing more bus lanes has long been a stated priority of the transport agency, however transport advocates have been critical of the pace of rollout.
Tim Welch said we need to avoid the sci-fi movie scenarios where a disaster happens and everyone’s stuck in their cars. (Source: Breakfast)
Work on AT's Connected Communities program, the agency's project to revamp some of Auckland's busiest arterial corridors, was halted earlier this year.
One idea the agency is still exploring included dynamic lanes that could change depending on congestion instead of just running during rush hour.
"Rather than just a sign saying your bus lane hours are 7am to 10am, could we have lights around the sign that light up when the bus lane is active, and that can help us if there are disruptions due to unplanned events like, 'oh, there's been a crash, and it's the middle of a busy Saturday, and all of our buses are getting caught in this traffic'," he said.
"The trick is that bus lanes are also used for car parking, and we can't just kick out the cars that were parked there. [But on roads] when bus lanes are sometimes traffic lanes at other times, that might be a solution that we can bring to improve reliability."
The planner added that trials launched on some buses earlier this year to extend green traffic signals for buses had been successful in saving "a third of their travel time".
Meanwhile, big rapid transit projects like the Eastern Busway and Northwestern bus improvements would also help improve reliability, Elliot said.
In the southeast of the city, a new interim service would be provided from Botany to the airport, along the intended route of the future rapid transit line, with a reorganisation of some buses in the rapidly-growing part of Auckland happening from 2027.
Trains every seven minutes by 2026
Rolling line closures and speed restrictions have plagued Auckland trains for years, with more frustration still to come as KiwiRail continues its programme to rebuild the foundations that lay underneath rail tracks.
Data to July showed the struggling network has seen patronage halve from record levels in 2019, whilst buses and ferries had recovered to nearly 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
But long-suffering commuters have been promised a light at the end of the tunnel, quite literally, with construction continuing on Auckland's two new underground stations.
With the City Rail Link's opening expected in around three years, trains will be able to run from stations in the west, like Avondale and Kingsland, through the two new stations underground and emerge on the surface to then travel onto Ōrākei and eastern suburbs.
Additional capacity made available by running trains through, instead of terminating at Britomart, would mean trains would run more frequently - every 7.5 minutes during rush hour, and every 15 minutes during the day.
But despite the project, trains will "remain" only every half hour in the late evening, according to the plan, due to KiwiRail maintenance requirements.
"The increased frequency in peak times, throughout the middle of the day, and in the early evening will be an increase from what we have today," Elliot said.
Auckland Council will consider its share of the funding request later this month. (Source: 1News)
"The span of train services will actually be pushing later into the evening, but those later services will be running half-hourly. It's an increase from the fact that people don't have a service at all now to having half-hourly service, which we think is a win."
Rideshare services to be expanded
The transport agency also wants to expand its rideshare service, AT Local, which it made permanent for Takanini residents after a trial last year. Using an app, passengers request rides and then walk to a spot nearby where a car or minivan will pick them up.
Nine suburbs were being considered for an expansion of the scheme in the new plan. The service was first trialled in Devonport controversially before being pulled in 2021.
Elliot said the service's subsidy per passenger in Takanini, a key measure, was now lower than the hourly bus it replaced.
"That area is still developing, and there's not really the road network to allow us to serve some of the houses with a bus, but the AT Local car or van can get in there."
He said other trials would involve adding coverage to areas currently without buses or supplementing existing buses.
"Maybe your local bus [on a small route] makes sense during the day, but after 7pm at night, there's not quite enough demand for us to justify running a bus," he said.
"Then AT Local will kick in from 7pm to maybe midnight, depending on the location."
If a ridesharing area grew to have enough demand, planners could replace the minivan service with a full-sized bus that could carry people more efficiently, Elliot added.
Consultation on the 2023-2031 Regional Public Transport Plan closes next Thursday.
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