Planning committee chairman Chris Darby said making the best use of scarce road space, particularly for public transport, was a constant challenge.
Auckland Transport chief metro officer Mark Lambert said the challenge is to provide more reliable and faster public transport without compromising the quality of city space.
He believed the parties had come up with a solution that offers the best of both worlds.
The new option removes the need for buses on Victoria St by moving some major bus routes within the CBD and developing a new bus facility in Grafton Gully.
The option is still at the feasibility stage. Auckland Transport intends to do more work to ensure it can work and report back to council's planning committee in September.