Traffic was running freely down Vincent St towards the Wellesley St intersection in central Auckland this morning. Photo / Michael Craig
Traffic was running freely down Vincent St towards the Wellesley St intersection in central Auckland this morning. Photo / Michael Craig
March Madness - the busiest month of Auckland's traffic calendar - got off to a trouble-free start this morning with nothing out of the ordinary on the city's roads and public transport.
This could change tomorrow when the first of three early morning bus strikes takes place at NZ Bus depots across the city.
About 250 bus drivers will strike at the Glenfield and Swanson NZ Bus depots from 4am to 7am to attend a stop work meeting after contract negotiations broke down last week.
Similar strikes are set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, affecting morning peak bus services.
An Auckland Transport spokesman said the closure of the Wellesley St/Albert St intersection had not caused any major problems.
"We did notice that some drivers had forgotten about the change and were using Federal St but we're sure they will now alter their route," he said.
There were some minor delays on Victoria St between Hobson St and Queen St from drivers seemingly using this as an alternative to the intersection, the spokesman said.
The Herald caught the 101 University bus from Ponsonby to Auckland University this morning. Traffic was light and the journey was a breeze, taking 15 minutes.
Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt said about 800 bus drivers would vote over the new few days on whether to take further strike action in a dispute with NZ Bus over pay and conditions.
He said NZ Bus had offered 68 cents to take hourly pay rate to $22.75. The Tramways Union and First Union were seeking a further 25c to take the hourly rate to $23, he said.
The union is also seeking changes to 14-hour shifts broken up by several hours on unpaid leave.
Today officially marks the first day of the semester for 2020, and it comes the day after construction on the City Rail Link (CRL) closed the major city intersection of Wellesley St West and Albert St.
Wellesley St West, in particular, acts as the dividing border between Auckland University and AUT University in the city, and the 30 bus routes travelling the east-west route have been diverted around several CBD blocks.
National Party MP Nikki Kaye, who has been fielding calls from angry Aucklanders over the amount of road construction clogging the streets. Photo / Dean Purcell
The works are for Aotea Station - one of three new stations for the CRL along with Karangahape and Mt Eden stations.
Roadclosure
Artist's impression of the City Rail Loop Aotea station. Photo / Supplied
Access to Mayoral Drive at the intersection will remain closed for five years until CRL is completed in 2024.
But Wellesley St West will re-open to through traffic on March 1, 2021.
The first of Auckland's four scheduled new trains from Spain are due to be rolled out next week, and some extra train cars will be added on to the existing fleet, adding 1200 more seats at peak times.
