Plan for bus terminal first raised in 2014

A plan to possibly close the intercity bus terminal at SkyCity was first raised between Auckland Council and the casino operator in 2014.

The proposal since then to shift the terminal to Manukau has been greeted with outrage from bus passengers and Chamber of Commerce boss Michael Barnett. Mayor Phil Goff has been quiet on the issue, but is understood to have a preference to keep intercity bus services in the central city.

About 500,000 passengers use the long-service bus service to and from Auckland, many of them young, elderly and the poor. Being forced to find their own way into central Auckland would add about 20 per cent to travel costs, says the Bus & Coach Association.

In a statement issued by Auckland Transport yesterday, it said in 2014 SkyCity indicated to Auckland Council that it may seek a variation to its resource consent requiring the company to provide the bus terminal.

Off the back of this, Auckland Transport did scoping work and looked at alternatives. A new $35 million bus-train interchange at Manukau was identified as an option.

A SkyCity spokesman said it believed its building was not the best location for an intercity bus terminal, but had not requested a variation. He did not say if it would do so this year.

Auckland Transport and council chief executive Stephen Town said they had encouraged the Bus & Coach Association to find an alternative site for a bus terminal in the central city and would work with it on a proposal on the proviso little or no public money would be available to the private companies.