Auckland motorway bus lane upgrades slow due to funding
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Plans to fast-track upgrades to bus lanes on Auckland motorways appear to have slowed due to a lack of money.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) 10 months ago identified five sections of bus lanes as being doable within six to nine months, but two of them could still be a year away.
Some of the work is planned for the northwestern motorway, where doubt has been raised about the longer-term timing of an eventual light rail line or dedicated busway.
The council's agency Auckland Transport has been pushing NZTA to improve bus journeys along the motorways, where only sections of shoulder lanes are open for buses.
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'Assuming it turns out as expected, there is likely to be an incredible amount of travel time savings for our customers,' an AT official wrote in documents obtained by Stuff.
The piecemeal system of buses being allowed to use some stretches of shoulder lanes but not others is being addressed by the project run by NZTA, which controls motorways.
Auckland Transport is responsible for running the city's bus network, and has been frustrated in the past at what it had seen as NZTA's reluctance to make pragmatic improvements.
'AT is pushing NZTA to improve access to motorway shoulders,' another AT official wrote in an internal email in November.
In a joint presentation obtained by Stuff, the pair now describe the collaborative project as one that 'strongly communicates the One Network approach'.
However, funding available in this financial year appears to be running out.
'Budget will constrain full implementation this financial year,' an NZTA internal update noted in February.
While the work is relatively minor, involving signs, road marking and some new sections of seal, its importance for bus services on the north-western motorway could be increasing.
The Government's election commitment to light rail to the northwest is now being questioned, with speculation funding might allow only the highest-priority line from the city centre to Māngere.
Transport Minister Phil Twyford told Stuff there was nothing yet to suggest the two lines couldn't both be built, but acknowledged the Māngere line was the priority.
Stuff understands that a Canadian partner of the Super Fund, which is pitching to privately fund and build light rail in Auckland, didn't consider the northwest line financially viable.
Twyford was unaware of NZTA's shorter-term project to improve bus journey times using the existing carriageway and motorway shoulder.
No further construction will happen before July.
'With the remaining money available in this financial year, the team is taking a wider view of SH16 and is investigating design options from Great North Road to Te Atatū,' said an NZTA spokesperson.
'Once design and cost estimates are completed, the team will apply for construction funding in the 2019-2020 financial year.'
Several test stretches north of the Harbour Bridge have been completed, and other possibilities include lanes at the Ellerslie-Panmure roundabout, SH20A southbound from Kirkbride Road to the Airport, and at the Silverdale off ramp.
NZTA wants to impose strict speed limits and access rules for the new sections of upgraded shoulder lane.
The agency proposes giving buses access to the lanes only if general traffic slows to less than 60kmh, buses shouldn't travel any more than 30kmh faster than the adjacent general traffic, and never exceed 60kmh.
There are currently no formal speed limits for bus lanes other than those which apply to the motorway, and NZTA describes the proposed limits as 'advice'.