Park-and-ride proves transport of delight

Passengers were thin on the ground - but mostly full of admiration - as the country's first two park-and-ride bus stations opened for business yesterday along Auckland's Northern Motorway.

North Shore Mayor George Wood claimed line honours as the first passenger aboard the new Albany-Auckland express service when it began at 7am.

Buses left for Britomart at 15-minute intervals until 10.40 last night.

Mr Wood's council is spending $85 million on five bus stations along the $290 million Northern Busway, which Transit New Zealand is building as its first large foray into public transport infrastructure.

The new bus service, which will receive its first test from commuter crowds this morning, offers a foretaste of the rapid transit scheme to be provided by the busway proper when it opens in just over two years.

Shuttle buses will run during weekdays between 5.45am and 11.40pm for now, and the first two stations at Constellation Drive and Albany will serve as interfaces between these and local feeder services.

Buses will until 2008 have to mix with other traffic on the motorway while ferrying passengers between Auckland and the two stations, which will be joined by three others at Akoranga, Westlake and Sunnynook once the busway itself opens.

There were plenty of spare seats yesterday on a fleet of seven gleaming new Northern Express buses, operated by Ritchies Transport but painted blue, in the livery of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority's Maxx brand.

Each of the powerful eight-wheeled buses can carry up to 81 passengers, but there were just a handful on most trips yesterday, and none on some.

Many travelled free after turning up at the new stations for curiosity's sake and being coaxed aboard with complimentary passes.

North Shore City Council public transport implementation manager Chris Gardiner said the intention was to have a "soft" opening, to give those running the new service a chance to iron out any difficulties before patronage picked up.

He did not expect this to happen suddenly.

"It will take a bit more publicity before people start to flood in. People don't change their commuting habits easily but when they see those new liveried Northern Express buses zooming up and down the motorway they will give it a go."

Dairy Flat couple Jim and Valerie Bacon and their son Karl drove to the Albany Station simply out of curiosity, but after leaving their car in the 350-space free parking area were talked into a free trip to Auckland.

Mr Bacon said he intended paying a full fare last night to collect a visitor from Coromandel.

"It is just great," he said of the new service. "It will be a lot easier than trying to find a carpark."

Newspaper designer Eric Thompson said he preferred public transport but often succumbed to driving to Auckland from Torbay during winter rather than risk getting wet at his local bus-stop.

He was confident now of being able to drive to Albany, where the North Shore council is offering 24-hour security at the bus station and park-and-ride zone.

The new service

* Buses will run at 15-minute intervals from Albany to Britomart along the $290 million Northern Busway.

* The Albany station offers free parking for 350 cars, with 24-hour security.

* An open day at the station on November 19 will feature complimentary bus rides up and down the motorway.