Auckland commuters urged to prepare for congestion as March Madness looms

Auckland commuters are being urged to plan ahead as March Madness quickly approaches – the busiest period for the city’s transport network.

Auckland Transport group manager for public transport operations Rachel Cara says, regardless of how you travel in the mornings and afternoons, you are likely to be affected as congestion levels jump by 6.7% at least.

She said it takes a full year to plan for the levels of traffic.

“More people use Auckland’s transport network from February until early April than at any other time of year.

“With our buses, trains and ferries making 13,500 trips per day, including 500 school trips, Auckland Transport anticipates there will be over two million passenger journeys each week.”

The traffic is expected to peak between 7am and 9am, and 3pm and 6pm.

Cara said there had been multiple upgrades to public transport in the last year, including increasing the number of “fast, frequent routes”, which means buses come at 15-minute intervals.

“With additional trains also in the fleet ahead of [the] City Rail Link opening, we’re able to run more six-car services, including 40 peak services and some school trips.

“The recent tertiary concession increase, from 20% off to 40% off, has already seen a 25% increase in trips taken year on year and we are likely to see more students on board as they return to university.”

The opening of the City Rail Link is expected to help with congestion this March.

Auckland Transport Operations Centre (AOTC) manager Claire Howard said her team would be “implementing reactive responses” during the busy period to optimise traffic flow.

“These include managing signals to clear traffic, deploying estimated journey times on digital displays and monitoring the roads with a one network lens.

“This means that no matter where you are travelling through, arterial roads or state highways, there is a team working 24 hours to ensure that Aucklanders get to where they need to get to safely.”

Cara gave a list of advice for commuters during this period, including not leaving belongings on the bus seat beside you, remembering to tag on and off and to be patient – the next bus or train should not be too far away.

She said commuters should always check the status of travel times on map apps and, if possible, carpool with family, friends or colleagues so they could travel in T2 and T3 lanes to reduce journey times and help disperse traffic.

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