UPDATE: The Case of the On-again, Off-again, and On-Again Great South Road Bus Lanes

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

Ummm which way Auckland Transport?

 

It is the case of are we going to do the bus lanes down the Great South Road from Manukau Station Road to Papakura Metropolitan Centre or are we not because of budget issues in Auckland Transport?

Earlier this year I had blogged by disdain on Auckland Transport saying that after delays there will be NO bus lanes for the Great South Road due to budget and leadership issues within the organisation. Enter one new CEO, a restructure and a heck load of noise and this is what came back today when I put the case forward AGAIN:

Subject: Great South Road Bus Priority

Customer Reference: CAS-762712-M8B0D2 

Thank you for your suggestion to have bus lanes going down Great South Road from the Takanini Motorway to Walters Road. At the outset I’d like to extend my apologies for any delays in responding as we are currently working through a backlog of cases.

I have reached out to the Infrastructure Development Team and can advise that there is currently a bus priority project underway for Great South Road from Manukau Station Road to Papakura Interchange that will be implemented in the second half of 2018. This project should address some of the concerns that you have raised.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback which we encourage because it provides the opportunity to identify and prioritise customer-focused improvements across the public transport network.

—ends—

 

That Restructure seems to be working because not only have the bus lanes been to restored for the second half of this year but the language around the response has changed as well.

 

Great to see the bus lanes coming through as I have recently travelled the 33 Great South Road bus between Papakura and Manukau and the bus lanes are sorely needed along the entire stretch to get through the bottlenecks especially between Walters Road and the Takanini Motorway interchange, and between Kerrs Road and Browns Road in Manukau.

Update: 

  • Consultation on the project to be done in the Spring
  • Works to be done especially on the Takanini stretch of the Great South Road to start 2019.

Map of the Takanini stretch where bus or transit lanes would apply is below:

Takanini Bus Lanes.jpg
Takanini stretch of the Great South Road where proposed bus lanes would go

 

What a saga this has been but yay on Auckland Transport coming through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “UPDATE: The Case of the On-again, Off-again, and On-Again Great South Road Bus Lanes”

  1. The bus lane needs to continue past St Aidens Reserve. This is a highly used bus stop in the morning and buses struggle to get back out into the single lane after this stop. It would help if the cars parked for sale in this stop were moved on to allow those dropping kids at school bus to pull in off Great South Rd. It’s a nightmare every morning

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