KEY POINTS:
Auckland's northern busway, which opened this week, is a daring investment by Transit New Zealand. A two-way motorway reserved for buses, it is separated from the traffic alongside, soars over intersections on its own viaducts, and comes equipped with glassy new stations, pedestrian bridges and extensive carparks at the last two stops. It has required realignment of some existing motorway access roads and ramps and restoration of the inevitable damage it did to school grounds and parks in its path.
No expense was spared. At Shoal Bay, a little-used pedestrian bridge over the motorway was laboriously extended and, famously, a tiny colony of dotterels was relocated from its breeding spot on the mudflats.
It is up to commuters now to see that the $300 million cost is worthwhile. The scheme assumes sufficient numbers will forsake their cars, either completely or at the outer busway stations, to reduce congestion appreciably on the motorway alongside.
The initial signs were hopeful. When the partially completed busway began carrying services from the "park and ride" stations, the carparks were reportedly full almost from day one. It seemed the planners had underestimated demand, but not so; they want to encourage commuters not to drive to the stations but to use feeder buses and transfer if necessary.
This may be one step too far - or too quickly - for Aucklanders accustomed to the convenience of a car. It is one thing to drive to a station where express services run every few minutes, quite another to walk to the nearest bus stop and endure the uncertainties of suburban routes. When three Herald staff sampled the options on the busway's opening day, the bus transfer proved the slowest and most frustrating.
Clearly, the Auckland bus operators have much work to do before their standards of service match the dedicated infrastructure taxpayers have provided. A single ticket honoured by all public transport companies was introduced with the busway and scheduled to be extended to the whole of Auckland in 2010. But the drivers encountered by our reporters on Monday seemed confused about the tickets available.
The busway is the northern line of a region-wide public transport plan with railways for its southern, eastern and western spokes. Britomart is the hub and the electrification of the western rail line is the other major investment required. It is an ambitious project for a city that has sprawled too widely for most citizens to be within walking distance of any point on the four spurs.
If it is not to cost Auckland ratepayers a fortune in operating subsidies, the city's development will need to be reshaped around the four main transport lines, which indeed urban planners have begun trying to do. So far they are not meeting with success. Residents of transport "nodal" points such as Panmure on the eastern rail line have resisted more dense zoning.
But the busway may operate more economically than the rail corridors. It lends itself to more flexible use. Already there is a case for shuttle vans and cars with multiple occupants to use it, though not if they hold up the buses. It is up to North Shore commuters now to indicate how they wish to travel. If they flock to faster and more regular bus services, the busway cost will have been worthwhile. If they shun the buses, the investment can be adapted to their preferences.
The highly visible four-year project has been a welcome sign of the sustained national prosperity that enables the country to make infrastructural expansions on this scale. Auckland's vitality should be better for it.
