Auckland Transport builds $32,000 bus stop on an island with no public transport

Friday, 4 February 2022

Great Barrier Island sits just 90km northeast of Auckland, in the Hauraki Gulf. With its exposed coastline, it’s an area susceptible to coastal erosion, with everything from the roads to cultural sites in peril. (First published January 2022)

Auckland Transport spending $32,000 to install a bus stop on an island with no public transport has been labelled “excessive” by local politicians.

An inner city-style glass and timber bus stop was placed near the northern end of Aotea – Great Barrier Island in August 2021.

Auckland Transport spokesman Blake Crayton-Brown said the new stop replaced a shelter in poor condition.

It also needed to be relocated due to safety concerns, he said, with the exact cost of supplying and installing the shelter coming to $32,300 – including the construction of a concrete pad.

A bus stop on Aotea – Great Barrier Island cost more than $32,000 to install.

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Aotea Great Barrier Island local board chairwoman Izzy Fordham says the shelter’s cost is “excessive”.

Aotea Great Barrier local board chairwoman Izzy Fordham said the bus stop’s price tag was “excessive”.

“As grateful as we are … it's something urban that's been picked up and dumped in an incredibly rural, coastal environment,” Fordham said.

Crayton-Brown said its installation was part of an Auckland Transport programme of road safety improvements at Motairehe Marae.

It was the same model of small standard shelter Auckland Transport used across Tāmaki Makaurau.

“The shelter was transported from Auckland to Aotea via ferry – this was arranged by the contractor.”

But Fordham said there were builders and contractors on Aotea who were fully capable of building a suitable – and less expensive – shelter.

“[AT] doesn't look after any of the other bus shelters, so if this one claps out we will call AT and tell them to send someone over to their bus stop.”

Crayton-Brown said while AT had no buses on the island, there was still a need for the shelter.

“Great Barrier Island doesn’t have any public transport services, but it does have school runs and the shelter will be used for one of these.”

Aotea Great Barrier Island lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, about 90 kilometres north-east of central Auckland.

It has a population of just over 1100, with one main road running through the centre of it.

Green Party and Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick said Aotea Great Barrier locals – especially those living in the historically underserved north of the island – deserved the same investment in their infrastructure and transport as the rest of Auckland.

“That glowing tardis of a bus stop is an indication resources can be invested in the island.”

She said it was easy to score “political points” by having a go at the cost of public services and the “mismatch between community needs and delivery”.

“These basic needs should never be a fight.”