Auckland's rail bus network still needs some attention
Aucklanders have just dealt with 2 weeks of rail buses, what can be done to make them even better for the future?
We have just come off two weeks of rail buses in Auckland, and over the past 12 months, Auckland Transport has been tweaking, adjusting and improving Auckland's rail bus network. Stops have been moved, shuttles added, express services added and removed, and overall bus quality has improved.
But there are still a few areas that need a bit of love, some great bits and some bits that are still pretty bad. Let's start with the bits that need the most attention first.
During the 2024/25 summer rail shutdown Auckland saw some of the best rail replacement services I can recall in my history. Almost every line had a normal rail bus and an express service running, with some pretty impressive timetables 7 days a week.
During the April Rail network shutdown, express rail buses were cut right back, with only the southern line having an express rail bus.
East and West Auckland missed out on express buses and almost every day during the shutdown Auckland Transport had to send notifications asking people to take scheduled urban buses where possible due to overcrowding.
If there were more buses and express services, the passenger load could be spread across services easier.
FIX - Restore the express services and timetables.
While out on the rail bus network, we also noticed a number of destination signs were broken or wrong. Some destination boards were illegible due to broken LEDS and had A4 or A3 paper signs as replacements.
Having buses clearly labelled as to which run they are going is very important for passengers to see, especially at busy bus stops where similar-looking buses may be confused with urban bus services.
FIX - Operators should check that destination boards are fully functional before leaving the depot, and have clear backup signage that can be used if there is a fault.
In one of the recent rail bus weekends, someone at Auckland Transport HQ made a great decision to print up giant pink rail bus signs which drivers can place in the front and side windows of their bus.
While the signs are great and super clear in some buses, in others they are often blocked by window wipers or fall down due to the bus dashboard design and are then illegible to anyone who may be trying to read them.
FIX - Invest in some 3M clips, double-sided tape or other mounting equipment to mount the signs clearly and safely. Also, having swappable RBE, RBW, RBS etc, signs would be a good addition to route finding.
The Eastern Line rail bus route has been improved with the addition of the Meadowbank shuttle, but there is another improvement that could shave a few minutes off the RBE route. It's time to remove the Ōrākei park and ride bus loop.
Currently, all Eastern Line rail buses wait at the lights to turn into the park and ride to check for passengers, then wait at the lights again and rejoin Ōrākei Road despite there being more easily accessible bus stops on Ōrākei Road.
FIX - Move the RBE stops to Ōrākei Road and install shelters at these stops.
The Western Line rail bus route could also do with a minor adjustment around Morningside Station.
The rail bus stop is currently located near the station's underpass entrance, but most passengers get off at the Morningside Drive entrance and make their way to the Morningside Shops stop to connect with buses there.
FIX - Relocate the RBW stops to the Morningside Shops to better connect with local bus routes.
In Auckland, we are all too familiar with experiencing 4 seasons in one day, with it fine one minute and then pouring down and blowing a gale the next. This is why it is important that all rail bus stops need at least one bus shelter.
In Australia, quite often during closures, there are gazebos to provide some shelter to waiting passengers. We have done this before in Auckland at Homai Station Park and Ride, where a temporary shipping container bus shelter was installed to provide cover from the elements.
FIX - Invest in shelters for rail bus stops (bonus benefit, regular bus users also get use from these shelters at urban bus shared stops)
A single 30-40 passenger bus is not equivalent to a 3 or 6-car train service. While most rail closure works are tied to quieter periods of use on the rail network, there is still demand for people wanting to travel and a single bus just doesn't cut it.
FIX - More and larger buses, more often, across all lines.
Finally, I know it's hard having people constantly complain, so I just briefly want to give kudos to Auckland Transport for some of the recent rail bus improvements over the last 12 months.
The Western rail bus route has been improved by removing the need for buses to navigate the speedbump-filled Arawa Street near Fruitvale Road Station, with rail buses now stopping nearby on Great North Road.
Further along the Western Line at Avondale station, buses have been moved off the rather steep St Jude Street stops in favour of staying on Great North Road, this change better allows for connections to local buses, as well as removing the need for some passengers to hike up or down St Jude Street unnecessarily.
The addition of the Meadowbank shuttle has improved RBE services from winding down to the station and back, and also improved life for local residents who no longer need to hear large buses pull down their narrow streets to drop off a handful of passengers.
We also noticed some shuttles have been dropping passengers near their final locations along the shuttle route, which makes the rail bus even better for them.
During the summer rail shutdown, we saw more electric buses on the rail bus routes than ever before.
This was in part due to Tranzurban having EV buses at their disposal before they took over the WX1 11 & 12 routes in West Auckland, but Kinitec also came in with EV buses for those taking some RBS services.
One other bonus to using newer buses and ex-urban buses, most services had AT HOP readers, which allowed for buses to be GPS tracked within the AT app, and eased journey planning.