T2 lane offences ticketed

The North Shore’s newest transit lane has led to hundreds of drivers being nabbed in the eight months since it opened.

Auckland Transport (AT) has issued 818 infringement notices to drivers ignoring the transit lane rules on Albany Highway.

The upgraded 3.8-kilometre stretch of road, from Schnapper Rd/Bush Rd intersection in the south to the Albany Expressway in the north, opened in October and widened the highway to four lanes – two for general traffic and two T2 transit lanes for buses and vehicles carrying two or more people.

The T2 transit lanes operate from 7am till 9am and 3pm till 6pm from Monday to Friday.

AT estimates around 17,000 vehicles, as well as cyclists and pedestrians, use Albany Highway every day.

The regional arterial road serves the North Harbour industrial estate, five schools, Massey University and a number of residential estates.

Auckland Transport media manager Mark Hannan said allowing single occupant vehicles to use bus or transit lanes ‘‘compromises the ability to get the best use of the existing network’’.

‘‘In terms of people movement, transit and bus lanes can significantly improve efficiency, albeit initially resulting in increased congestion,’’ Hannan said in a statement.

Beach Haven’s Kris Bryce expressed confusion on Neighbourly.co.nz about the Albany Highway transit lanes.

‘‘I don’t get why the T2 lane on Albany Highway continues past Rothwell Ave. There is a huge amount of traffic build-up in Rothwell Ave which have to cross over to the second lane, when the nice drivers let you in, only to have to switch back near the Gull if they want to head towards Glenfield,’’ Bryce wrote.

‘‘I think the T2 adds to the congestion and risk of an accident because it makes drivers have to make unnecessary lane changes all with 300m.’’

AT compliance officers monitor transit lanes daily, randomly monitoring different locations across the city.

Bus and transit lanes are surveyed annually by AT to assess whether the lane is still needed.