To make journey times faster for people on buses, we’re building a new bus-only lane on the Te Atatū citybound on-ramp (coming from Te Atatū Peninsula) to the Northwestern Motorway, State Highway 16 (SH16).
People in the northwest of Auckland need faster and more reliable public transport options.
To make journey times faster for people on buses, we’re building a new bus-only lane on the Te Atatū citybound on-ramp (coming from Te Atatū Peninsula) to the Northwestern Motorway, State Highway 16 (SH16).
The lane will be approximately 250 metres long and will be built alongside the existing three lanes on the on-ramp (two for general traffic, and one T2/Truck lane). The existing lanes will remain in place so there will be no impact on general traffic after construction is complete.
Construction began in January 2024 and will take 15 weeks to complete.
The new bus only lane will also function as an emergency stopping lane. It requires an amendment to the NZ Transport Agency Traffic Controls on State Highways Bylaw 2017/14 in order for it to become legal and enforceable.
The specific updates into the bylaw are:
Bus lanes provide a fast, reliable congestion-free travel option and we need to ensure police can enforce the correct regulations when they need to.
The new bus only/emergency stopping lane, and corresponding change to the bylaw is outlined in the map below.
View/download larger map [PDF, 142 KB]
CloseWe sought stakeholder and community feedback, on the proposed bylaw amendment, from 19 December 2023 – 31 January 2024.
During the consultation process, no concerns were raised regarding the proposed bylaw amendment.
We are proceeding with the amendment to the NZ Transport Agency Traffic Controls on State Highways Bylaw 2017/14 as proposed.
The new bus-only / emergency stopping lane is currently under construction and will become legal and enforceable once construction is complete in May.
CloseBus lanes maximise the capacity of the road corridor, significantly improve the quality of public transport along a route and improve operational efficiency.
The new bus shoulder lane will reduce bus journey times. When this saving is combined with other improvements along the route, it results in faster and more reliable journey times overall.
This project will support the changes made as part of the Northwestern Bus Improvements project which was delivered by Auckland Transport (AT) and Waka Kotahi. That project provided new bus stops at Westgate, and at the Te Atatū and Lincoln Road motorway interchanges, plus new and extended bus shoulder lanes on the Northwestern Motorway (SH16).
Northwestern Bus Improvements project(external link)
On 12 November 2023, AT began a new flagship bus route, the Western Express (WX1), along with a range of other improvements to bus routes in the area. The new WX1 and 11 routes will combine to provide buses between Westgate, Lincoln Road, Te Atatū and the city centre in both directions every ten minutes, from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.
The changes made as part of the Northwestern Bus Improvements project were designed to provide faster and more reliable journey times in the short-term, while plans are made to provide rapid transit along the Northwestern Motorway. Those investigations are currently underway as part of Te Ara Hauāuru – Northwest Rapid Transit.
Learn more about this exciting and transformational project(external link)
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