31 May 2005

Coming soon – a bus lane near you

Changes are afoot to prioritise bus services for western and North Shore bus routes.

Large orange signs are now in place along the route to alert motorists to bus lanes coming to Albert, Sturdee and Vincent streets, and Mayoral Drive, at the end of June.

The lanes will make it easier for bus passengers to travel to and from Auckland’s CBD. They support the Northern Busway and new bus services being introduced by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) on 3 July.

The new bus lanes are the first large scale prioritising of passenger transport over general traffic in the CBD and the city.

“The lanes are a bold move to give bus passengers priority over motorists,” says Councillor Richard Simpson, chairperson of Auckland City council’s Transport and Urban Linkages Committee.

“They show how serious Auckland City is about building a strong passenger transport network for the region. They are our part in a regional effort to improve bus reliability and trip times to and from the CBD, to make bus travel more attractive to passengers.

“Change is always seen as both an opportunity and a threat.

“For Auckland to progress as an international city we need an integrated transport system that includes reliable, frequent and affordable passenger transport that people choose to use over taking their cars,” says Mr Simpson.

Albert Street will have reduced capacity for cars during the morning and afternoon traffic peaks (6am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday). The lanes follow Auckland City’s central area access strategy which assigns different transport priorities for CBD streets.

For example, Albert Street is prioritised for passenger transport, Queen Street for pedestrians, and Hobson Street and Mayoral Drive for cars.

The new bus lanes start operating on Monday 27 June. Civil works have now begun to prepare the streets for the new lanes.

The new lanes will be green at the start and end of each lane, to comply with regional standards and help motorists recognise the bus lanes on their regular routes.

ENDS