NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has endorsed the Northwest Rapid Transit Investment Case recommending a busway alongside State Highway 16 between Brigham Creek and the city centre.
The Northwest Rapid Transit project, now to be known as Te Ara Hauāuru - Northwest Busway, will improve access to employment opportunities, provide faster, more reliable journeys, support quality urban form and residential and economic growth, and provide more transport choices.
The Investment Case endorsed by the NZTA Board recommends a busway alongside State Highway 16, similar to the successful Northern Busway, with busway stations at Brigham Creek (including park and ride), Westgate, Royal Road, Lincoln Road, Te Atatū, Point Chevalier and Western Springs enabling safe and efficient access.
This project is a strategic priority as identified in the Government Policy Statement on land transport and State Highway Investment Proposal.
The Northwest Busway, similar to the Northern Busway, will provide fast, frequent and reliable transport choices for communities in Auckland’s northwest – while freeing up space on the motorway for freight and those that need it.
In addition to the busway, the project includes a park and ride facility and station at Brigham Creek, and stations at Westgate, Royal Road, Lincoln Road, Te Atatū, Point Chevalier and Western Springs.
NZTA will now seek to obtain statutory approvals for the project, likely via the Fast Track Approvals Act.
In the coming weeks and months, the project team will be speaking with stakeholders and landowners to discuss what the Northwest Busway means for them and next steps, recognising there is some design and investigation work to be done before lodging the designations.
The project is being led by NZTA in partnership with Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Te Ākitai Waiohua.
Te Kawerau ā Maki have gifted the name ‘Te Ara Hauāuru’ to the project. This name references the wind that blows from the west, a powerful force and story for the iwi. The west wind carries the voice and vision of the community of the west, and the path of connection between these communities and Tāmaki Makaurau. We would like to express our gratitude to Te Kawerau ā Maki for this taonga (treasure) and significant gesture.
Beehive.govt.nz media release - Northwest Busway takes another step forward(external link)
Te Ara Hauāuru - Northwest Busway Investment case summary [PDF, 3.5 MB]
Te Ara Hauāuru – Northwest Rapid Transit information brochure [PDF, 1.8 MB]
Video: Te Ara Hauāuru - Northwest Rapid Transit, August 2024(external link)
The project area covers from Brigham Creek to the city centre along SH16 and includes:
Project outcomes and benefits:
The Northwest Busway will:
Like the Northern Busway, the Northwest Busway and stations are expected to be built and opened in stages to start delivering benefits as early as possible, making best use of existing infrastructure and providing value for money.
The staged construction programme in the Investment Case prioritises benefits to West Aucklanders sooner and focuses on getting more people on the bus, as quickly as possible building on the popular WX1 service that currently uses shoulder lanes and interim bus stops.
Depending on the availability of further funding, the next stages of construction could begin from 2027.
A potential order for staging the project, as identified in the Investment Case and dependent on funding availability, would see stage one deliver new stations at Brigham Creek (including park and ride) and Lincoln Road. Stage two will include the separated and bi-directional busway from Brigham Creek to Te Atatū, along with the stations at Royal Road and Te Atatū, the second stage of Westgate station, and the city centre connection at Newton. The Point Chevalier and Western Springs stations, and the busway between Waterview and the city centre, are to be delivered as a third stage.
In the meantime, NZTA and Auckland Transport will look to deliver further optimisation improvements to make bus journeys on the WX1 faster and more reliable, such as making the bus shoulder lanes more continuous and improving bus movements through intersections.
Construction is already underway on a new station at Westgate, funded separately by the Government’s National Infrastructure Fund, with the first stage to serve local buses to open in mid-2026.
CloseTo help inform the project, the team will be completing a range of technical surveys and assessments over the coming months, which include:
The project team will try to complete most of these surveys and investigations as quickly as possible, during daytime working hours and on public land to minimise disruption to the community. If you have any questions please get in touch with the project team.
CloseThe Northwest Rapid Transit Investment Case was endorsed by the NZTA Board. The Investment Case showed our work to understand the project’s potential options – including their benefits, risks, dependencies, and uncertainties – and then confirmed a recommended option. A summary of this can be found here:
Te Ara Hauāuru - Northwest Busway Investment case summary [PDF, 3.5 MB]
We investigated a broad range of routes, alignments and modes, including bus and rail. Each option was assessed against many different factors, including:
A busway is preferred because it:
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It was important that we undertook a robust analysis of all the potential rapid transit options to deliver the best outcome for the northwest.
A previous investigation, as part of the Indicative Business Case, looked at the Westgate to Newton Road section of the northwestern motorway and recommended bus as the preferred mode.
However, those investigations didn’t include the city centre components of the journey, from Newton Road to downtown. Previous work was also undertaken around five years ago, so it was important to reflect any changes that have occurred since then – like further development of other rapid transit projects in Auckland as well as more recent city centre planning by Auckland Council and Auckland Transport.
The need for rapid transit in the northwest, along SH16, has been identified in:
