Stuck in traffic? Alternative options to get across Auckland when roads are gridlocked

It is possibly the week the Gibbs Aquada, an amphibious car-turned-speedboat, has come into its own. Or perhaps you are fortunate enough to have a helicopter parked in a dedicated harbourside boatshed.

With crazy commutes taking up to four hours to get from one side of Auckland's crippled harbour bridge to the other alternative modes of transportation have suddenly come to the fore.

And there are several options frustrated motorists can reach for depending on the size of their wallet.

The Gibbs Aquada, a luxury sports car that performs like a jet-ski on the water, is definitely at top of the list for convenience, bridging the gap between road and water without leaving the comfort of the driver's seat.

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Though perhaps at nearly $300,000 it's understandable few will have the luxury of escaping maddening queues and hitting the harbour behind the wheel of the world's first high-speed water car.

There's perhaps a more affordable option, an on-call water taxi available to ferry people between Birkenhead and Westhaven Marina when it suits.

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Auckland Sea Shuttles owner Steve Latham said since travelling across the bridge turned into a nightmare on Monday some frustrated commuters had already lined up short rides across the harbour to escape never-ending queues.

At $250 a trip to hire a boat that carried up to 10 people between Bayswater and Birkenhead to Westhaven Marina, Latham said it meant groups could divide up the cost and make it an affordable journey in a fraction of the time it would take by road while the bridge remained under repair.

For those with a bit more cash to splash helicopter service Heletranz is offering a five minute flight between Mechanics Bay and its base in Albany to avoid the congested North Shore peak hour traffic.

This was priced at $190 a person one way.

At least one commuter had taken the company up on its new downtown shuttle service, according to Heletranz co-owner Sofia Ambler.

"It's a solution for those who maybe have an eight o'clock or nine o'clock meeting in the city and don't want to spend hours in their car," she told Newstalk ZB.

But perhaps this could be a moment for a budget option, stand up paddleboards.

At just under $350 it stood to be a commuting investment that not only worked out the cheapest in the long term to traversing the harbour, but a good means of daily exercise to boot.