Weekly Review No. 2
This week in the world of transport and transit we look at the Western Express, Whakatipu Basin, The New Lynn depot, Level crossings and more!
Stay updated on Twitter/X with the latest transit news as it happens but in the meantime here is the Weekly Review.
Due to the nature of this post being written during the week and scheduled on a Thursday night, there may be some tidbits we miss from the tail-end of the previous week I will do my best to post them in the following week's weekly review.
Auckland Transport (AT) has updated some of their passenger information display screens on the bus and train network to have a colour marking to indicate frequent routes.
City Rail Link showcased the skylights that are being installed as part of the architectural fit-out of Te Waihorotiu Station.
MOTAT is replacing some of their overhead line infrastructure, The lines and pointwork were originally donated and installed 42 years ago and were ex-Auckland Trolley bus lines.
Metlink renewed its Rail Partnering Contract with Transdev through to the 3rd of July 2031.
Lastly, late on Friday Night over on Twitter/X we hit 200 followers, I am so grateful to all those who have an interest in this venture here and on Twitter/X, I wasn’t sure if I would ever see success with this but seeing 200+ followers and 60+ subscribers on Substack has made me smile.
We started the week by exploring the Northwest and checking out the Western Express bus stop progress there are 20+ images to look over take a look!
Ready for service - Western Express bus stop progress
It will be a dog’s day out as household pets are now paw-manently welcomed onboard Auckland’s buses after a successful trial period. Previously pets were allowed on trains off-peak following another trial and pets have been welcome on-board some ferries for a while.
Travelling to the tourism mecca of Queenstown, the region is currently taking feedback to shape the future of the Whakatipu Basin’s public transport options.
An online survey will be available from 18 September.
West Auckland has now in part gone electric with AT and Kinetic officially opening the recently electrified New Lynn depot.
AT has indicated it plans on going ahead with works to improve the access ways to Corban Estate before removing the pedestrian level crossing in late 2023.
Further up the Western line, AT is still undertaking investigations on the O’Neills Road level crossing, For the level crossings at Kingdon Street, Lloyd Avenue & Tironui Station Road East AT are currently assessing the community feedback.
For Homai Station AT will seek feedback on removing the pedestrian level crossing in late 2023.
Taking a trip to the South Island, Nelson Tasman’s new eBus service is proving popular with 68,000 journeys taken in the first month of operation, The new network has seen a 68% increase compared with the average usage from the last 7 months of NBus.
The newly introduced Motueka route is very popular and saw close to 3,000 journeys in the first month of operation.
Newsroom revealed the Government's attempt to bring ferry services to Waiheke under greater public control has failed, with Minister of Transport David Parker saying he needs a formal request by transport agency Waka Kotahi before it can happen.
On Thursday we posted your questions to AT and Demystified Auckland’s electric buses.
From which route is next to be electrified, When might we see electric double-deckers, When will the Northern Express be electric Will we see retrofitted diesels? We got your electric bus questions answered!
Demystifying Auckland’s electric buses: Your questions answered!
The Herald revealed KiwiRail wanted a decision from ministers on its “significantly more costly” mega ferry terminals by July, documents reveal, but the problem remains unresolved and there’s no promise it will be sorted out before the election.
On Thursday Afternoon AT announced a cyber incident had taken out part of the AT HOP system.
This incident has taken online top-ups and other AT HOP services using MyAT HOP offline. Ticket and top-up machines are only accepting cash with some HOP retailers unable to top up HOP cards or process other HOP services like loading concessions.
Thursday evening, AT announced they have contracted Explore Group to operate the Bayswater, and Birkenhead / Te Onewa Northcote Point ferry routes from October 1.
Lastly, it’s not good news for Metlink with a new survey showing satisfaction with the region’s public transport network dropping but overall trip satisfaction has remained high.