Covid-19: Almost 90 per cent more cars on Auckland roads on first day of level 3

Thursday, 23 September 2021

Low volumes of traffic are using border checkpoints to travel between Auckland and the Waikato region.

Auckland's first day in alert level 3 saw 20,000 more cars on the road - an increase of almost 90 per cent.

Contactless takeaways and retail can open under level 3 restrictions and construction can also resume alongside already-open essential services.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) said the Auckland network “has been observed to be busier, generally with queueing at takeaway locations”.

Day one of alert level 3 saw an 88.6 per cent increase in light traffic and an 86.3 per cent increase in heavy traffic compared to the previous Wednesday when the city was in level 4.

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On the first day of alert level 3, Auckland has seen more vehicles on the road than the past five weeks in level 4. (File photo)

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During level 4, Auckland saw an average light traffic count of between 20,000 and 40,000 before increasing to over 60,000 on Wednesday.

Compared to previous years, this is an all-time low for the city in the months of August and September.

Auckland Transport saw over 33,000 citizens take public transport on the first day of level 3. (File photo)

Sarah Geard of AA motoring said around 300,000 more Aucklanders are estimated to be heading back to work.

Geard said there were “undoubtedly more vehicles out on the road” on Wednesday morning compared to Tuesday.

However, the additional vehicles have not caused any congestion or delays in the city.

Geard said there had been a minor increase in travel time of around one to two minutes across the three main motorways heading into the city.

“The trip along the southern motorway between Papakura and the city centre peaked at 23 minutes this morning, just two minutes more than the peak.”

Public transport saw a big jump in patronage on the first day in alert level 3 too.

Auckland Transport (AT) saw over 19,000 people use buses, trains and ferries on the last day of alert level 4, before jumping to over 33,000 on Wednesday.

Figures are expected to climb slowly over the next few days as more workers go back, said an AT spokesman.

Auckland is in alert level 3 for at least two weeks following the community Covid-19 Delta outbreak in the city.