Auckland Transport media release

24 May 2017

Better bus services for West Auckland arrive 11 June

It has been three years in the making, and on Sunday 11 June everything about West Auckland buses will change, including new bus routes, new route numbers and new timetables.

There will be an all-day service on the Northwestern motorway from Westgate to the city, a service for the Trusts Arena in Henderson, and one for the Rosebank business area.

Auckland Transport’s Metro Network Development Manager Anthony Cross says, “The New Network is about making bus travel better for Aucklanders, better integration with trains and introducing reliable, frequent, seven-day services on routes that are simpler for people to understand. It’s a major step forward to creating a connected transport system in which local, frequent and rapid services all work together.

“It’s also about addressing the large parts of West Auckland that have had poor levels of service, particularly around the Massey and Hobsonville area, and making Westgate a key interchange.”

Massey will have improved services every 30 minutes between Henderson and Westgate and a 30 minute service from Westgate to the City via Triangle Rd.

The Colwill Rd area will have a service every 30 minutes connecting the area to Westgate. From Westgate people can connect to the North Shore, the city and Henderson, a task made easier with the new zone-based fare system.

Passengers can look forward to improvements along New North and Sandringham Roads, with buses now leaving the city centre at least every 15 minutes until midnight.

Bus services for the Titirangi, Green Bay and Laingholm area were revamped in 2014, and in the first year patronage grew by 35 percent. From Sunday 11 June, these bus services will have minor timetable changes to ensure buses run on time.

“Overall, we’re trying to address not only peak demand, but also to make public transport more useful for more people all day, every day of the week,” says Mr. Cross.

“In making a more connected network, we appreciate that some of our decisions do not accommodate all bus users and their particular travel preferences. During consultation in 2014, we received more than 1200 submissions and made changes to 11 of the 24 proposals as a result of what people told us.

“We know that large-scale change is not easy. To help customers get ready for the changes we’ve included a mail out to 97,000 households in West Auckland, posters at bus stops and created videos promoting the changes in Samoan, Hindi and Chinese.”

“This is not the finish line, to cater for a growing city AT are continuing to plan five, 10, even 30 years ahead. We’re aware that as the West grows, and more people and businesses spread further, we will need to add services and new routes.”

Some of the key benefits for West Auckland include:

• A single, all-day, high-frequency route (to be operated with double-deckers from August) along Great North Rd between New Lynn and the city, replacing multiple current routes and improving access to Auckland Zoo and MOTAT.

• An all-day service for the first time on the Northwestern Motorway, from Westgate to the city.

• Frequent all-day service between Westgate, Lincoln Rd, Henderson and New Lynn via Great North Rd.

• More direct and more frequent all-day service between Henderson, Westgate, Hobsonville and Constellation Station on the North Shore.

• Simpler, easier to understand and more regular local services feeding the frequent network at New Lynn, Henderson and Westgate.

People can also come along to public information events, to talk to the team behind the changes and get help planning their new journeys.

For more information about the West Auckland New Network and information events visit AT.govt.nz/newnetworkwest

ENDS

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