Massive Operation to Keep Cyclists Safe on Harbour Bridge
Media Release
11 November 2014

A wall of 98 buses will be used to form a solid barrier between Bike the Bridge entrants and vehicles on one of the country’s busiest stretches of road.

They’ll form a portable safety barrier that can be removed immediately once the last cyclist has passed through the 3.1km section of the course this Sunday 16 November.

Traditional concrete barriers could be used, but they would take a week to put in place and a week to remove. The bridge has some 200,000 vehicles using it daily, so Auckland commuters would have had something to say about that.

Ritchies Coachlines is once again in charge of this vast operation, parking their vehicles nose to tail along the vital stretch of road.

Garth Stewart, Service Quality Manager, at Ritchies explains the logistics:

“We bring a number of buses on at a time and then the initial group of 14 drivers goes back to the depot to pick up more. We’re on the bridge about midnight and aim to have them all parked up by 4.30am. At 5am more drivers join us, so we can clear the bridge more quickly at the end of the race.

“There are actually 98 buses and two other companies involved. We contract buses from Birkenhead Transport and The Party Bus Company to go alongside the buses from Ritchies.”

This is quite a personal mission for Garth, as his brother suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is in a care home. The event has raised more than $170,000 to support MS Auckland in its first two years and Garth is hoping to ride in it himself one day.

Bike the Bridge 2014 takes place on Sunday 16th November and is open to cyclists of all ages and abilities. There are three distances to choose from, 105km, 50km and 20km, all featuring the unique experience of riding over the iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge.

It’s an ideal event for families, the Travelwise Kids Challenge offers distances of 2, 4 and 6km on the closed ring road and toddlers can join in too on their own dedicated track inside the safe confines of North Harbour (QBE Stadium). There’s a festival of entertainment and hospitality waiting for riders in the stadium after crossing the finish line.

For more information or to enter go to www.bikethebridge.co.nz

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