Auckland's park and rides are at breaking point, with many filling up well before the height of rush hour.
Auckland's park and rides are at breaking point, with many filling up well before the height of rush hour. Commuters say more parking spaces are needed to get more people on to public transport. The Herald visited major park and rides in the city's four corners last week to assess the situation.
There are 230 car parks at the Papakura Park & Ride but despite what looks like an abundance of space, 7am is the deadline for a prime parking spot.
The Papakura park and ride is full from early morning. Photo / Michael Craig
The car parks are spread out over two parking lots on opposite sides of the Papakura railway tracks, which run on the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network.
At 6.30am on a Tuesday the first parking lot, located on Railway St West, had only two spaces left - but in a matter of minutes they were gone.
Commuters have to arrive early to grab a park before catching the train into Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
After this time, motorists started to get creative, with several vehicles parking on grass verges and in any space a car could possibly fit.
Students Kyla Parker, Kitty Ubonpatsria and Alyssa Keenan at the Papakura station. Photo / Michael Craig
Kitty Ubonpatsiri and her university friends got up at 5am in order to get a park.
"If you are not here by 6.30am you won't get a park," she said.
"One time we drove in and paid for parking in town which was really expensive. We did car pool which made it cheaper but we could have taken the train in."
Alyssa Keenan was one of the motorists that had to resort to parking on the grass.
"I have to get up three hours before I go to class to make sure that I can actually get a park, get on a train and make sure I can get to uni on time because the train is also quite long," she said.
When questioned about whether there were enough facilities, the girls' answer was a simple no.
"So many people use the train station – we need more," they said.
Commuter Danielle Gear. Photo / Michael Craig
A short time later, Danielle Gear arrived 10 minutes early for her train, and was lucky enough to get the last parking spot in the Railway St West Park & Ride.
"Most of the time I park outside, I am kind of lucky to actually get one in here," she said.
"Just after 6.40am it would be pretty much full. I have kind of come to terms with that so I don't plan to park in here, however, just passed the parking there are a few parks on the side of the road."
Commuter Olive Robson at Papakura Station. Photo / Michael Craig
Despite the early morning rush to get a park, Olive Robson said the Park & Ride had really good facilities - but she would like to see more of them.
"It is one of the best facilities for Park & Ride so far that I have seen in Auckland," she said.
"If you miss out here, at least you have local street areas to park – and it is pretty safe."
However, on the other side of the tracks at the other Park & Ride lot located on Ron Keat Dr, all but a couple of spaces are full by 7am.
Nigel Harvey at the Papakura Park and Ride. Photo / Michael Craig
Regular Park & Ride user Nigel Harvey caught his breathe as he proclaimed that there were not enough parks.
"I am running late this morning, but if you are not here before 7am it is difficult to get a park here.
"I am parked way down the far end and normally end up parking further away," he said.
"I am riding four to five days a week. There are not enough parks here, basically there are a lot more people being asked to take public transport yet there is not enough space here to park."
• The Papakura Park & Ride caters for commuters catching buses and trains on the Southern services.
• Bus services operate from Papakura Station to Otahuhu Station every half hour, and to Manukau Station every 20 minutes.
• Train services run from Papakura Station to Britomart every 10-20 minutes, with the first train leaving at 5.14am.
• On a weekday morning there are about 512 peak-time train passengers from the Papakura station to the city centre.
• A total of 8420 morning commuters travel on the Southern Train Line during peak hours, with 6718 travelling towards the city and 1702 away from the city.
• The Papakura Park & Ride is patrolled from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, by Papakura Trust security staff.
