Green for buses, red for trains

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Auckland transport planners are struggling to provide improved rail and bus services before Christmas.

Electronic boards with information on how far the next Link bus is away and signal recognition giving the inner-city buses green lights at intersections have made a shaky start.

But for rail commuters, the promise of more peak-hour services, evening services to 11pm and Sunday services has come to nothing.

The $6.9 million bus information and traffic light pre-emption project is one year behind schedule.

It is not operating fully and does not always tell would-be passengers the Link is on its way.

The 24 buses in the Link fleet are triggering green lights and saving up to nine minutes a loop, and the electronic and audio system on the buses telling passengers about the next bus stop are working.

But only 23 of the 50 electronic boards at bus stops are working, and they are not always telling people that the bus is on its way.

Auckland City principal planning manager Denis Mander said the council and Stagecoach had found the problem, and as soon as it was fixed all 50 electronic boards would work with 90 to 95 per cent accuracy.

Once the system was working for the Link service, it would be phased in on other services at 204 bus stops in Auckland City, Mr Mander said.

The Auckland Regional Council has not provided promised 10-minute train services between Britomart and Papakura at peak hours, extra peak services from Britomart to New Lynn, evening services to 11pm and Sunday services by Christmas.

The ARC made the promises in May when it announced "real progress and real action" with extra services and a new timetable for the opening of Britomart in July.

ARC passenger transport committee chairwoman Catherine Harland said the ARC had been unable to deliver on its promises because it had underestimated how many people would use trains and was too optimistic about the ability of the old trains to cope.

It had also been unable to recruit enough drivers for expanded services.

Ms Harland could not say when the improved services would be implemented.

New services

COMPLETED

Priority green lights at intersections for Link buses.

Electronic and audio information on Link buses.

PARTIALLY COMPLETED

Electronic information saying how far the Link bus is away.

NO PROGRESS

Evening train services to 11pm.

Sunday train services.

10-minute train services to Papakura and New Lynn.