Residents ask T3 or not T3?
The introduction of new T3 lanes in Epsom has divided opinion over their benefits to commuters.
Some commuters say they are uncertain about T3 lane rules while others want to know how the laws are to be enforced and what penalties there are for rulebreakers.
The lanes introduced on Manukau and Pah Roads between Trafalgar St in Royal Oak, and Owens Rd in Epsom, operate Monday to Friday, with the northbound lane from 7am till 9am and 4pm till 6pm, and the southbound lane from 4pm till 6pm.
The T3 lanes can be used by buses, cyclists, motorbikes, and private vehicles with three or more people in them. ’’Prioritising high occupancy vehicles provides the greatest possible time savings for the greatest number of people,’’ AT spokesman Mark Hannan says. However, in the early stages of the T3 implementation some commuters have experienced delays. Neighbourly.co.nz has received a lot of feedback on the issue.
‘‘The T3 lanes have added 20 minutes on to my journey to work in the morning. It is also infuriating watching people drive in the lanes that clearly only have one person in the car to skip the traffic,’’ commuter Hannah Dyson says.
‘‘Non-T3 drivers can use up to 50 metres of the T3 lane to get around turning vehicles,’’ Hannan says. ’’Improperly using a T3 lane when in a car carrying fewer than three people can result in a fine of $150’’.
AT will be conducting monthly monitoring of general traffic and bus journey times, Hannan says. Early monitoring of the new T3 lanes shows time savings of more than three minutes per bus.
When designing the new layout, AT modelled T2, T3 and busonly lanes. T3 was shown to provide the greatest amount of timesaving allowing more reliable bus services. This improvement is generally supported by public transport users. ’’The T3 lanes have made my bus travel much better, much faster’’, public transport user Bhawanjot Singh says.
Further north, T3 lanes are proving effective on Birkenhead’s Onewa Rd. This is one of Auckland’s most productive corridors where more than 50 per cent of the people are transferred using buses and T3s along Onewa Rd.
For more Information on the AT transit lane rules and penalties go to the website: at.govt.nz.