A bus trip across town

A look at the latest improvements to the bus network in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Some big improvements went live on the public transport network in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland yesterday. These improvements continue to build on the changes that have been introduced across Tāmaki Makaurau over the last 2 years (which I discussed in the article below) to help create a more frequent, reliable, and accessible public transport network in the city.

Frequency is freedom

These new additions consist of:

• Upgrades to the central crosstown bus routes with routes being extended and two routes upgraded to frequent. These changes see an additional 40,000 people being within 500m walking distance of a frequent bus service, running at least every 15 mins, 7 days a week, from 7am to 7pm.

• New infrastructure has been built to create a more comfortable journey.

• More accessible options to pay for your fare when travelling by bus, train or ferry.

So, check when the next bus is coming on AT Mobile and head to your nearest bus stop as we are going on a trip to have a detailed look at these changes.

OuterLink and Route 64:

We’ll start by tagging onto the OuterLink at Victoria Park, where these amber orange buses will no longer require delays for driver changeover at Victoria and Albert Parks and the turnaround on the western end of Jervois Rd has been removed, This will see more shorter journey times when travelling to or from the city centre from the inner west suburbs of Herne Bay, Westmere and Point Chevalier. The biggest change that’s being made to the OuterLink is that it no longer runs as a circular route, with the southern section between St Lukes and Newmarket via Balmoral, Mt Eden and Epsom being removed and now terminates at St Lukes and Newmarket.

These changes have been made to improve OuterLink's reliability and passenger experience. Despite being one of the city’s most popular bus routes, the route had suffered from poor reliability with at times having long waiting times to buses bunching together, which resulted in services travelling around the loop in pairs. The OuterLink running in a circular route saw it require to stop for long waits at bus stops while in the middle of service in order for the service to stay on timetable, creating in a poor passenger experience.

Outer Link’s bunching (Baker, 2024)

At Newmarket, we will transfer onto the 64, which has been extended to St Lukes via Mt Eden Village and Sandringham Rd to mitigate the removal of the southern section of the OuterLink. The 64 will now run every 12 minutes between 7 am - 8:30 pm and every 15 minutes between 5:45 am - 7 am and 8:30 pm - midnight. The 64 will run via Dominion Rd instead of Sandringham Rd in 2026 following the opening of Maungawhau Station. Since the 64’s introduction in 2020, the service has operated a rail replacement service while the station is closed and being rebuilt as part of the City Rail Link.

Other changes made to mitigate the removal of the southern section includes more afternoon peak trips running on the 30 (City Centre to Onehunga via Manukau Rd) and the introduction of a new school bus route: S513, which runs from St Lukes to Newmarket to take students to and from schools in the Epsom area (Eg: Epsom Girls Grammar and St Culberts College) via Dominion Rd, Mt Eden Village, and Mt Eden Rd.

Map of the new OuterLink and 64 routes (Source: Auckland Transport)

Route 65 and 67:

We arrive at St Lukes and then jump onto the 650 (Glen Innes to Point Chevalier via Balmoral Rd) which has been upgraded to a frequent route to become the 65 (running every 15 minutes every 7 days, 6 am-midnight).

65 route map (Source: Auckland Transport)

Along the path of the 65, two interchanges have been built at the Balmoral Rd/Mt Eden Rd intersection and Manukau Rd/Green Lane West intersection. These interchanges create easy transfers from the 65 onto bus services on Mt Eden Rd (with more peak trips added to the 27H and 27W) and Manukau Rd with bus shelters and wayfinding installed to assist passengers. This upgrade will help improve access to retail centres and amenities at Point Chevalier, St Lukes, Balmoral, Epsom, Greenlane, Remuera and Glen Innes.

Manukau Rd/Green Lane bus interchange (Baker, 2024)

We transfer onto the 30 the Manukau Rd interchange to Onehunga to catch the 670 which has been upgraded to a frequent branch route with the 67A and 67B. The 67A will run along the path of the old 670 between Ōtāhuhu Station to New Lynn via Onehunga, Stoddard Rd, Ōwariaka and Avondale, while the 67B will run the same route between Onehunga and New Lynn. Both branches will run every 30 minutes to ensure a bus runs every 15 minutes between Onehunga and New Lynn, every 7 days, 7 am - 7 pm.

This upgrade to the 670 will support new residents moving into housing being built now and in the near future as part of Kāinga Ora’s large-scale developments in Ōwariaka, Wesley, and Mt Roskill and improves public transport connections to retail, employment centres and amenities at New Lynn, Avondale, Mt Roskill, Onehunga and Ōtāhuhu. The upgrades to the 650 and 670 were funded by Auckland Council’s Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate (CATTR).

Route 67 map (Source: Auckland Transport)

Route 66 and 68:

Following a visit to LynnMall, we make the return journey to Onehunga via the 68 (New Lynn to Onehunga via Blockhouse Bay) which has been extended to Onehunga Station.

We’ll take a short train trip to Penrose Station and transfer onto the 66 (Point Chevalier to Sylvia Park via Mt Albert Rd) which is now running every 20 minutes in the evening, thanks to funding from CATTR.

Botany Station:

We transfer onto the Eastern Line to Panmure and head east to the 70 to the interim Botany Station. The station was recently upgraded with new bus shelters, footpaths, improvements to kerbs and roading infrastructure around the station to support passengers using services on the Eastern Busway when it opens in 2027.

Interim Botany Station (Source: NZ Transit Buzz via Twitter)

Contactless payments:

If you had left your HOP Card at home or you are from outside Tāmaki Makaurau and are visiting the city for a day or two. You can still travel around by bus, train, and ferry by paying for your fare with your debit or credit card or by your phone and smartwatch. Introducing contactless payments improves the accessibility of public transport by unlocking multiple ways to pay for your fare. You will be charged an adult fare when using your debit or credit card to pay. If you want access concessions, discounts and the $50 7-day fare cap, you must pay with your HOP card.

Tag on with your debit card (Source: Auckland Transport)

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s great to see these improvements go live to deliver more transport choices throughout Tāmaki Makaurau. As we had previously discussed, we have seen the gains made in increasing the use of public transport to get around following the introduction of more frequent routes as shown by the Northwest Bus Network which just celebrated its first birthday of going live and had reached over 5 million trips, about 45% above its expectations in the first year.

I look forward to seeing the gains that these improvements will create to help us get more people travelling by bus, train and ferry and contribute to creating a more equitable, accessible and sustainable transport network.