No shortcuts getting to airport
An Auckland local board member said the city needs to make the most of its current options for airport transport, rather than waiting for rail or other services.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board deputy chairman George Wood set out to do the journey from Albany Bus Station to Auckland Airport to highlight the route.
Wood tweeted on June 22 to say he was going to trial the service on June 26. He began the approximately 50 km journey from Albany Bus Station using the Northern Busway to Britomart.
From Britomart, Wood took a train bound for Papatoetoe to connect to the 380 Airporter bus service, which runs a circuit between Manukau and Onehunga via Auckland Airport.
The route took over an hour and a half, with Wood leaving Albany at 6.36am and arriving at Auckland Airport at 8.14am. The only delay was a 10-minute wait at Papatoetoe bus station, as the bus was running five minutes late.
At $7.50, Wood described his trip as ‘‘pretty seamless’’ and ‘‘good value for money’’ but admitted he would have to study the timetables carefully before feeling confident to rely on it for a long-haul flight. He said connections needed to be reliable and frequent.
Wood said Auckland Transport (AT) could improve the usability of the service, such as increasing the frequency of the Airporter bus which only runs every half hour and a possible connection at Puhinui Station.
Albany ward councillor John Watson has been assessing public support for a bus service direct from the North Shore to Auckland Airport.
He said most people were ‘‘100 per cent’’ supportive of a direct service due to the convenience and speed and felt it was long overdue.
The only direct service to the airport from Auckland city, the SkyBus, runs every 10 minutes at peak times and online costs $17 one way or $30 return.
AT spokesperson Mark Hannan said in a statement, they are investigating how to improve bus services to the airport, including looking at increasing frequency and improving links with east and west Auckland.
He said there were no plans to implement a service between the North Shore and Auckland Airport due to budget constraints and predicted patronage.