Auckland transport informaton goes online

The much-heralded Rideline internet site will open tomorrow, letting Aucklanders work out personalised trip plans on buses, ferries and trains with a few clicks of a mouse.

Auckland Regional Council is billing its new site as the biggest improvement in public transport information since the paper timetable.

The website, gives step-by-step details on how to get from A to B on public transport, even taking into account walking times from your home to the nearest bus-stop.

Commuters may eventually be able to access the site by cellphone, so they can work out how to get home from shops and other centres.

Thousands of people are likely to use it each day - the council's public transport phone service, also called Rideline, already takes 1.2 million calls each year from an estimated 84,000 people seeking details of routes and timetables.