Transit New Zealand

Auckland Regional Office

4 July 2005

Media Release

New bus priority lane opens on the motorway

Bus trips into Auckland City from across the Harbour Bridge will be that much quicker now that a relatively small but strategically important section has been added to the existing bus priority lane on the motorway (SH1) through St Mary's Bay.

Transit New Zealand has extended the previous 1.3km bus shoulder lane by a further 270m to end at the Fanshawe Street/ Beaumont Street intersection. This now gives buses an unimpeded run in the morning peak along the motorway from the southern end of the Harbour Bridge to Fanshawe Street in the city.

Transit regional manager, Richard Hancy, says the work is part of Transit's overall strategy of increasing bus priorities on Auckland's motorway network.

"We are working on a 1.3km shoulder lane on the Northwestern Motorway between Great North Road (Waterview) and Rosebank interchanges to allow buses to bypass slow moving traffic during peak hours. Then, as part of the upgrading of the Central Motorway Junction, we will be adding a shoulder lane for buses along the motorway from Newton to St Luke's.

North of the Harbour Bridge Transit is involved in a major public transport initiative with the construction of the Northern the Northern Busway which, when completed, will run from Albany to Britomart. A study is also underway to assess further bus priorities from Constellation Drive to Orewa on SH1.

"These improvements, together with the quite extensive bus priorities along the Northwestern Motorway and Northern Motorway, the significant increase in new bus services to the North Shore and the new bus priorities in Auckland City itself, are making bus passenger transport increasingly viable between the city and the suburbs to the north and west of the region," says Mr Hancy.

ENDS

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