Weekly Review No.108
Inside this edition: Motu Move launches across Christchurch, construction progresses on the new Nelson Bus Hub and Greater Auckland shares a peak at the Northwestern Busway.
Welcome to the Weekly Review. You can stay updated on Twitter/X, Bluesky or Instagram with the latest transit news as it happens.
Auckland Transport has opened consultation on increasing the number of bookable spaces at Albany’s Southern Park and Ride from 5% to 10% of total capacity.
AT will also look to introduce bookable spaces at the Northern Park and Ride, if the southern site is regularly full.
AT are also investigating:
Barrier arms or licence plate recognition
Time limits to prevent long-term parking by nearby residents or businesses
Requiring users to tag into the carpark and then onto the bus
McMullen and Wing have announced that Auckland Transport’s new electric ferry AT2 (Te Waiarohia) is now ready for launch. The scheduled launch has been delayed until fast-charge testing has been completed on AT1 (Te Komiti). The new planned launch date for AT2 is early 2026.
Josh shared pictures of the latest station to see updated HOP machine wraps. All four Ticket & Top Up Machines at Ōtāhuhu Interchange have been wrapped up in Auckland Transport’s Shore Blue.
The four machines are located: Main Concourse near Platform 3, Near Stop C, near the doors at South Eastern Entrance and on the Overpass near the Tui Street footbridge entrance.
KiwiRail has shared progress photos of the construction at Drury and Paerātā stations. Both stations now have lift shafts and the bus loops, car parks, and surrounding roads are taking shape.
At Drury, stairs, under-track pipelines, & barriers for the pedestrian bridge barriers have been installed, with work on the shelters & carpentry on the overbridge underway.
At Paerātā, the frame for the pedestrian overbridge has been installed, as well as the barriers for the road bridge.
Wellington Cable Car’s Car 2 has received freshly painted gold pin-stripes and the number 2. The previous gold pin-stripes and number 2 were removed during repainting, following works to rebuild the car during the 2025 extended maintenance period.
Motu Move has launched on all Metro buses and ferries across Greater Christchurch (Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri) on Monday morning. Passengers can now pay a standard Metro fare using contactless debit/credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Metro cards.
Following the launch, Metro Canterbury shared an image of Motu Move ambassadors out helping passengers and showcasing what appears to be the Motu Move mascot. They also highlighted the work of the teams who had been out at the depots activating the Motu Move validators.
The NZ Transport Agency has opened tenders for the upgrade and signalisation of the SH22 and Jesmond Road intersection. These upgrade works will tie into access for Ngākōroa Station when it opens.
Fullers360 Te Kotuku’s main engines have been installed by the crew at McMullen and Wing. Work is continuing on completing alignment, exhaust systems and fuel connections, with cleaning and paint repairs ongoing. Te Kotuku is scheduled to be launched this week.
Smith Crane showcased what gear they used to move the new KiwiRail DM locomotives that arrived at Lyttleton Port. Crews used a Demag Terex AC350-6 (350t) mobile crane to lift the 108t locomotives off their truck and onto the tracks.
The Canterbury Railway Society shared images of the Ferrymead Railway’s new Sidings. The sidings are nearing completion and have had their first train over them. Teams have also been installing new floor boards in the F Van.
Nelson City Council shared progress photos of the new Nelson Bus Hub at Millers Acre. The concrete base for the hub has been poured and the outline of the kerbing has been installed and showing the layout of the future bus hub. Halifax St has also been partially re-ashphalted.
Whangārei’s BusLink brand (which operates CityLink and SchoolLink services) has launched a new website. The new site features service updates, what services they operate, as well as timetable information.
Auckland Transport’s signage and wayfinding design code, version 2.1, has been shared publicly. The code includes detailed technical specifications for creating wayfinding signs for AT.
Northland’s Marsden Point Rail Link could be the country’s first to be built with a public-private partnership, with companies showing keen interest in the project.
CBL Contracting has assisted Christchurch Tramway with relocating a spare tram bogie from their storage container to the Tramway Historical Society at Ferrymead. The bogie will then be fitted to one of the Christchurch Tramway trams before returning to service.
Auckland Transport is proposing to install dynamic lane technology to improve congestion along Park Road near Auckland Hospital. A dynamic lane layout would operate Monday to Friday between 10 am and 2 pm between Grafton Road and the entrance to Auckland Hospital.
Spotted by friend of NZ Transit Buzz, Shaun Baker: Auckland Transport has gotten into the festive spirit by wrapping NB5043 in a Christmas-themed livery. NB5043 can be tracked on AnyTrip here using the search function when it is in service.
With Albert Street reopening to bus services at the end of November, Josh has taken a walk along Albert Street, Mayoral Drive, Vincent Street and Pitt Street to check out the locations of the new & existing bus stops.
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