New central Auckland bus network will drive people back to their cars, says local politician

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Reporter Brittany Keogh video diaries her commutes before and after the launch of the new central Auckland bus network.

Changes to Auckland central's bus system will drive people back to their cars, according to a local politician.

But Auckland Transport (AT) says most residents will benefit from the new network it launched on Sunday.

The aim of the project was to provide public transport users with more frequent services and more travel options, AT said.

As well as introducing two new routes - the TāmakiLink, which connects Mission Bay directly with the CBD, and the 20 between Morningside and Wynyard Quarter via Kingsland and Ponsonby - AT has increased the frequency of buses travelling along main roads.

Auckland Councillor Josephine Bartley says residents in her ward will have to use their cars due to changes to the public transport network.

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Some direct routes, including the 030 from Point Chevalier to Britomart and the 31X service between One Tree Hill and the CBD, have been cancelled and replaced by transfer services, meaning public transport users in those areas may have to catch more than one bus or walk further to get to their destination.

Auckland Councillor Josephine Bartley, who represents the Maungakiekie-Tamaki ward, said the changes to bus routes in One Tree Hill had made it harder for people to get into the city. The trip would also take longer.

The 030 bus route has been cancelled after Auckland Transport rolled out a new central bus network.

'That's a real cause for concern for about 200 residents that are affected. I have residents emailing me saying 'we're going to have to use our car now because it's too hard to catch the bus'. That shouldn't be how it is.'

Reporter Brittany Keogh's commute to work is longer after Auckland Transport launches new bus network it says will give central Auckland residents 'better access to popular destinations'.

She was also concerned about the closing of bus stops on Inglewood Street in Glen Innes.

The 756 and 757 services used to run along that road every 15 minutes. Those routes have been replaced by the 762 which runs between Glen Innes and the CBD but doesn't go down Inglewood Street.

'A lot of 80 and 90 year olds catch that bus and so they've got further to walk now to get to a bus stop,' said Bartley.

Bartley said she had raised her concerns with AT's management and planned to meet with the chief executive next week to discuss them further. She hoped AT would reinstate the previous routes.

'It is ultra important that public transport works and is easy to use, especially now with the fuel tax.'

AT's network development manager Anthony Cross said some people would inevitably be unhappy with the changes.

'I guess it is for the greater good and we don't shy away from the fact that there are people who are going to feel that they're worse off. We're sorry about that.'

He was unfazed by the idea some bus users upset by the changes may turn to driving.

'We are challenging the way people think about how they use public transport in Auckland. It's about a connected network. It's not all about coming into the city,' said Cross.

'It doesn't mean you have to use the car for the whole journey. You can use your car to get to a point in the network where there's a really, really good service.'

AT consulted more than 3000 people while planning the network during 2015. Although more than half (55 per cent) of respondents said they did not think the changes would improve public transport for them, 38 per cent believed they would benefit the wider city.

Jon Reeves, spokesman for the Public Transport Users' Association, said overall the changes had improved the central Auckland bus network.

'But there will always be in these changes some people [for whom] there are negative effects as well, which we certainly hope are limited.'

He said it was important that transfer services were seamless.

'The last thing Auckland needs to do is lose regular bus users just so they end up going and driving cars again.'

Generation Zero's Auckland director Leroy Beckett said the changes to the bus network would likely increase bus patronage and it was unfortunate some people were inconvenienced by them.

Reporter Brittany Keogh's trip to work has been affected by the changes to the bus network. She reports on her new commute:

Looking out the window as we whizzed past queues of cars carrying single occupants along Great North Road I felt smug.

My trip to work on the 030 bus from Point Chevalier to the Stuff offices on Williamson Avenue in Grey Lynn took 15 to 20 minutes.

The route used the bus lane on Great North Road and dropped me directly across the road.

That was before Auckland Transport rolled out its new network.

Now the 5km to 6km commute takes nearly twice as long. I have to catch two buses and walk for six minutes to get from the stop in Westmere where the first bus drops me off to the shelter where the second bus, the 105, picks me up.

I've been doing this for the last two days. So far it's been OK, though not nearly as convenient or comfortable as my 030 journey.

It baffles me that Auckland Transport has axed a direct link between two neighbouring suburbs - Point Chevalier and Grey Lynn.

As I walk between bus stops I'm constantly looking up to check if any storm clouds are rolling in. I don't want to have to fumble around in my bag for the umbrella, which I'll have to shake the drops off and collapse again once the 105 arrives minutes later.

I'm going to try to use the new bus route for as much of the winter as I can. But I'm already wondering whether the heating system in my car will beckon me back to the old Corolla.