Auckland Transport (AT) is asking for feedback to change the operating hours of Dominion Road’s southbound bus lane by one hour, to help improve congestion and keep your city moving.

AT is also proposing to install a peak time right hand turn ban at certain bottleneck intersections to improve traffic flow.

“Dominion Road is long, but quite narrow, and we simply can’t fit any more vehicles down it - it’s reached its peak,” Chris Martin, AT’s Road Network Optimisation Manager says.

“More Aucklanders are on move earlier in the afternoon, and this, combined with school traffic, means the peak travel time home on Dominion Road now starts at 3pm rather than 4pm. We need to keep pace with this, and make the appropriate amendments to keep it moving,” Mr Martin says.

“The only things we can do to speed up travel is to make the most of the space already on the road, and this means using the existing bus lane more, and to restrict right hand turns at key intersections.

“We believe this change will save the average bus passenger up to three minutes in travel time between 3pm-4pm along Dominion Road. That’s up to 15 minutes every week,” he says.

People who travel along Dominion Road will know all too well that it is often congested in peak times.

It’s been this way for more than a decade. While Auckland’s population has grown rapidly since, the number of vehicles that can fit down the road, around 25,000, has remained the same.

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“Making better use of the existing bus lane is one of our most effective ways of beating congestion, helping more Aucklanders travel to and along the road,” Mr Martin says.

“By increasing the operating hours of the bus lane, we can increase the number of people who are able to travel down Dominion Road by bus.

“One double-decker bus can hold up to 100 people. If more people experience a faster bus journey, that’s potentially up to 100 fewer vehicles squeezing their way down this road.”

Feedback on intersection changes

AT wants to make other changes to Dominion Road to improve congestion, including restricting right hand turns at two specific intersections in peak time traffic.

“Balmoral is especially prone to congestion on Dominion Road in peak times, and part of the problem is the number of motorists turning right down Wiremu Street looking for a park,” Mr Martin says.

“This turning traffic must wait a while for northbound traffic to clear and means other southbound vehicles on Dominion Road back up behind causing big delays down through to the intersection with Balmoral Road, and beyond.”

AT is proposing to restrict right-hand turns from Dominion Road onto Wiremu Street and also Memorial Drive in peak hour traffic between 7am–10am and 3pm-7pm on weekdays.

We are also proposing to implement a permanent no right turn ban onto George Street.

“Restricting right turns at these bottlenecks during the peak period will help to unclog the busy through traffic approaching major intersections and reduce delays, as well as reducing turning crash risks,” Mr Martin says.

AT invites you to provide feedback on the proposed changes for Dominion Road at haveyoursay.at.govt.nz. Feedback is open until 25 May 2025.

Notes and quick facts:

• Dominion Road is one of Auckland’s busiest arterial roads, with over 25,000 vehicles using the road every day, and around 140,000 every week.
• 3,000 people board a bus each day on one of its many stops. Buses traveling through Dominion Rd carry around 7,500 passengers daily.
• Dominion Road is a narrow road with limited space with very few median strips. It has four major intersections, and more than 60 streets running off it along its seven-kilometre length.
• The heat map below shows southbound congestion on Dominion Road between 3pm-4pm each weekday. Bottlenecks appear at all four major intersections. The existing southbound bus lane runs almost the entire seven-kilometre length.

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