Transport in Auckland,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

's largest city, is defined by factors that include the shape of the

Auckland isthmus The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus i ...

(with its harbours creating chokepoints and long distances for land transport), the

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

character of much of the urban area, a history (since World War II) of focusing investment on roading projects rather than public transport,
Backtracking Auckland: Bureaucratic rationality and public preferences in transport planning
'' – Mees, Paul; Dodson, Jago; Urban Research Program Issues Paper 5,

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

, April 2006 and high car-ownership rates. These factors have contributed to a transport system that is highly dependent on private

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The ...

s. Several motorways radiating to the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

act as the backbone of the city's road network, with the busiest section of motorway carrying over 200,000 vehicles a day. The use of public transport in Auckland was high until the 1950s but subsequently declined during the second half of the 20th century, before experiencing a strong resurgence from the early 2000s. With the motorway network now largely completed, major efforts are underway to increase public transport use to address Auckland's congestion. Recent efforts have also focused on making cycling a safer and more attractive transport option.

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

has New Zealand's largest commercial port (mostly used for international commerce) and the country's largest international airport. It also has the Southern Hemisphere's largest marina.

History

Pre-European period

Throughout Auckland's pre-European period, its strategic location on the Waitematā and

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

harbours had important transport implications.

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

hauled

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

(canoes) between the harbours at portages, short traversable sections of land that connected the bodies of water. Some of the most major portages were Te Tō Waka, the shortest portage located at Ōtāhuhu, Te Tōanga Waka (the Whau River portage), as well as Te Pai o Kaiwaka, the

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, wh ...

portage which connected the Manukau Harbour to the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

in the south, and Te Tōangaroa in the north-west, connecting the Waitematā and Kaipara harbours overland at Kumeū.

19th and early 20th century

As a port city, Auckland's initial (19th century) urban growth occurred in an intense fashion, concentrated around the harbour in a similar manner to most other

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...

cities, with lack of transportation options limiting development to locations within walking distance of each other. The overcrowding of the inner city eventually created a demand for expansion made viable when new transportation technology appeared around 1900 in the form of

streetcars A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...

(trams) and

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

s arriving in Auckland. Auckland's first

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

line, from the CBD to Ponsonby via

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

, opened on 24 November 1902. As the system grew, it facilitated the expansion of Auckland's built-up area in two ways: in an intermittent linear pattern to the west and south along the railway line, and in a more continuous manner along the main routes. The demand for more living space from people who had been confined to the crowded downtown area coupled with an affordable and reliable transport network led to the creation of many of Auckland's original

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

, along Great North Road, New North Road, Sandringham Road,

Dominion Road Dominion Road is an arterial road in Auckland, New Zealand, running north–south across most of the Auckland isthmus. It is a major public transport route that carries 50,000 bus passengers each week, making it one of the few roads in Auckland ...

, Mt Eden Road, Manukau Road and Remuera Road, forming a new arc of suburban development by 1915. Auckland first railway, to Onehunga, opened in 1873. Expansion of the railway network facilitated growth in more distant locations such as Otahuhu and

New Lynn New Lynn is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres to the southwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is located along the Whau River, one of the narrowest points of the North Island, and was the loca ...

, while ferries served Devonport,

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

and

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

on the North Shore. Auckland's urban development in the early twentieth century is intrinsically linked to its transport networks, and because of their limited reach the city developed in a fairly compact manner to maximise the efficiency of the tram, railway and ferry systems. However, this situation was not to last for long, as even before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the car was becoming an integral part of life for many New Zealanders, opening up previously unreachable land for development.

Late 20th century

The number of cars in New Zealand skyrocketed from 69,521 in 1925 (when registration was first established) to 194,217 in 1938. This growing popularity meant that urban development could break free from the constraints of transport networks and occur anywhere roads were built. This led to a rapid decentralisation of urban growth, today often referred to as

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

, in the 30 years after World War II. In an effort to compete with increasingly popular suburban shopping malls, parking lots and later parking buildings were built in the city centre. The first municipal parking building (Britomart Place) was completed in 1958. The tram system was dismantled in the 1950sHistory of Auckland City – Chapter 4
(from the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

website. Accessed 7 June 2008.) and subsequent efforts to improve the rail network were not implemented. Meanwhile, a substantial motorway network was developed that facilitated urban growth to the north, northwest and south. These decisions led to Auckland becoming a highly car dependent city. Auckland Airport moved to its current site near Māngere in 1966, having been previously located in

Whenuapai Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of t ...

21st century

Continued strong population growth, combined with cheaper car imports, led to growing traffic congestion across much of Auckland in the 1990s and early 2000s. In response to growing congestion, central and local government increased transport investment from around $500 million a year in 2000 to over $2 billion in 2015. This increased investment largely completed Auckland's motorway network, funded th
upgrade
and

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histo ...

of the city's rail network, and supported construction of the Northern Busway. Despite these improvements, rapid population growth means that transport is still a major challenge for Auckland, with congestion costing the city around $1.3 billion a year. In 2009,

Paul Mees Paul Mees (20 March 1961 – 19 June 2013) was an Australian academic, specialising in urban planning and public transport. Mees died on 19 June 2013, 14 months after the diagnosis of kidney cancer. He was 52. At the time of his death he was ...

, an Australian academic who had advocated for greater public transport adoption said Auckland had "the most unbalanced transport policies of just about

ny city New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the world" alongside other academics who believed the city had underinvested in public transportation.

Road transport

Overview

There are over 7,000 km of roads in the Auckland region made up of

motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

s and local streets. * All motorways in Auckland are

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

, owned and operated by the New Zealand Transport Agency. These routes have multiple lanes in each direction, speed limits of 80–100 km/h and limited access. * Most arterial roads and local streets are owned and operated by

Auckland Transport Auckland Transport (AT) is the council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council responsible for transport projects and services. It was established by section 38 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, and operates under ...

. Some arterial roads (mainly in rural areas but also state highways 20A and 20B that provide access to

Auckland Airport Auckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand, with over 21 million passengers in the year ended March 2019. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service hub suburb south of th ...

) are classified as state highways and are owned and operated by the New Zealand Transport Agency. These routes range from multi-lane arterial roads with over 50,000 vehicles a day to unsealed rural roads.

Motorway network

An extensive motorway network was planned for Auckland in the 1950s and 1960s. Auckland's first motorway was a 3.2 kilometre section of the Southern Motorway, between Penrose and Mt Wellington, that was opened in 1953. By 2017 there was over 220 km of motorways in Auckland, carrying over 900,000 trips per day on the following routes: * Northern Motorway ( State Highway 1 between the Auckland city centre and Puhoi). This motorway includes the

Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...

and is the main connection between Auckland and Northland, as well as the key route linking the North Shore with the

. * Southern Motorway (State Highway 1 between the Auckland city centre and the

Bombay Hills The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and th ...

). This motorway includes the

Newmarket viaduct The Newmarket Viaduct is a seven-lane state highway viaduct in Auckland, New Zealand. The 700 m long viaduct, which is up to 20 m high, carries the Southern Motorway over the Newmarket suburb. Original structure The viaduct was opened on ...

, passes through the

Central Motorway junction The Central Motorway Junction or CMJ (best known as Spaghetti Junction and rarely as Central Motorway Intersection), is the intersection of State Highways 1 and 16, just south of the central business district of Auckland. A multilevel structu ...

and is the main connection between Auckland and

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

, as well as the key route linking South Auckland with the Auckland isthmus. *

Northwestern Motorway The Northwestern Motorway (also known historically as the Auckland–Kumeu Motorway), part of (SH 16), is the major western route and secondary northern route out of Auckland in New Zealand. Twenty-one kilometres in length, the motorway runs f ...

( State Highway 16 between the Auckland city centre and

). This motorway is the main connection to the northwest part of Auckland, links to the Waterview Tunnel (thereby being the key route between the city centre and

) and forms part of the

Western Ring Route The Western Ring Route is a motorway system being constructed in Auckland, New Zealand. It currently runs along (from south to north) the entire Southwestern Motorway (State Highway 20), most of the Northwestern Motorway (part of SH 16), the ...

. *

Upper Harbour Motorway State Highway 18 (SH 18) is a state highway that runs between the Auckland Northern Motorway (SH 1) on the North Shore and the Northwestern Motorway (SH 16) in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Upper Harbour Motorway forms most of its lengt ...

(State Highway 18 between Westgate and Albany). This motorway is the main connection between West Auckland and the North Shore, via the Upper Harbour Bridge. *

Southwestern Motorway State Highway 20 (SH 20), also known as the Southwestern Motorway, is a New Zealand state highway linking at Manukau with in Point Chevalier, via Māngere and Onehunga. Along with its spurs, State Highway 20A and 20B, the state hi ...

(State Highway 20 between Waterview and

). This motorway forms a large part of the

that bypasses central Auckland, provides access to

and includes the Māngere Bridge and Waterview Tunnel. Because of Auckland's geography and road network layout, many motorways also have

functions and are used for short-distance trips. Access to the motorway network is controlled through r amp signals, which regulate the flow of traffic onto the motorway. While this causes delays and vehicle queues when getting onto the motorway, it produces smoother through flows on the motorway itself.

Major arterial roads

Around 16% of Auckland's overall road network is classified as either a primary or secondary

. These roads generally have a speed limit of 50 km/h in urban areas and serve a wide variety of functions, providing for the movement of people, goods and services as well as public transport services,

cycleways Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wh ...

, on-street parking and access to businesses and residences. To best balance their wide variety of different functions, at peak times some roads have bus or carpool lanes, while on-street parking is frequently restricted.

Key infrastructure

Key bridges, tunnels and interchanges are critical to the functioning of Auckland's road network. Major pieces of infrastructure include: *

. Opened in 1959, this bridge is 1,020 m (3,348 ft) long, with a main span of 243.8 m, rising 43.27 m above high water. It forms part of the Northern Motorway and is the critical link between the North Shore and central Auckland. The bridge was extended in 1969 by constructing cantilevered 'clip-on' lanes at both outer sides of the original construction, giving it 8 lanes in total (from 4 lanes before). As this eventually was still not enough to manage growing traffic loads, a traffic management solution involving a movable barrier was installed, giving it 5 lanes per dominant direction depending on the time of day. * Upper Harbour Bridge. This bridge in the northwest of Auckland is an important connection between west Auckland and the North Shore and carries the

. The original two lane bridge, opened in the 1970s, was substantially upgraded in 2007 as part of the Greenhithe Deviation project. It now forms part of the

. *

Central Motorway Junction The Central Motorway Junction or CMJ (best known as Spaghetti Junction and rarely as Central Motorway Intersection), is the intersection of State Highways 1 and 16, just south of the central business district of Auckland. A multilevel structu ...

. The Northern Motorway, Southern Motorway and

all converge in central Auckland in a motorway junction (known locally as Spaghetti Junction due to its complexity). A series of upgrades were completed in 2007 to complete links between all motorways and improve access to

Grafton Gully Grafton Gully is a deep (about 50 m) and very wide (about 100 m) gully running northwards towards the sea through the volcanic hills of the Auckland volcanic field in New Zealand. It divides the CBD from the suburbs of Grafton and Parnell in ...

and the

Ports of Auckland Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the Auckland Council-owned company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities. As the company operates all of the associated fa ...

. *

Victoria Park Tunnel The Victoria Park Tunnel is a motorway tunnel completed in 2012 on New Zealand State Highway 1 in Auckland, New Zealand, taking northbound traffic off the Victoria Park Viaduct, which was converted to all southbound traffic. It lies mostly under ...

. This 440 metre long tunnel carries three lanes of northbound traffic on the Northern Motorway heading towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The tunnel was completed in 2012, alleviating a major bottleneck on the Victoria Park viaduct. *

Newmarket Viaduct The Newmarket Viaduct is a seven-lane state highway viaduct in Auckland, New Zealand. The 700 m long viaduct, which is up to 20 m high, carries the Southern Motorway over the Newmarket suburb. Original structure The viaduct was opened on ...

. This 700 metre long motorway viaduct carries the Southern Motorway over Newmarket. The original viaduct was opened in 1966 but was replaced with a completely new structure with higher earthquake standards and an extra southbound lane in 2012. * Māngere Bridge. This bridge carries State Highway 20 over the Mangere Inlet of the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

. The opening of the Waterview Connection in July 2017 linked SH 20 to State Highway 16 (the North-Western Motorway), and completed the

. This increased the importance of this bridge and both state highways, and relieved pressure on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the central motorway system by providing an alternative route for north–south traffic not bound for the city.

Future projects

Providing new roading connections in Auckland, or widening existing corridors, is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. This means that most new roading projects are likely to be located in greenfield growth areas at the periphery of the Auckland urban area. Major roading projects currently planned or proposed include: * East West Link. A proposed $1.85 billion four-lane highway linking State Highway 20 at Onehunga with State Highway 1 at Mount Wellington, primarily to reduce travel time for freight trucking. A change of government at the 2017 general election saw Labour and its coalition partners abandoning it, with other strategies being proposed to relieve pressure on the existing route. * Second Harbour Crossing. A proposed tunnel between the city centre and the North Shore to complement the

. This project has both a road and public transport component and is currently scheduled for construction in the late 2030s or early 2040s.

Public transport

Public transport in Auckland consists of bus, ferry and commuter rail services. The hub of Auckland's public transport network is the

Britomart Transport Centre Britomart Transport Centre, also known as Britomart railway station, is the public transport hub in the central business district of Auckland and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk railway line. It combines a railway station ...

near the Auckland waterfront, opened July 2003, where ferry, bus and train services meet.

Bus services

Bus services, the bulk of public transport in the city, are provided by privately owned bus companies contracted to

under the

AT Metro AT Metro is the public transport brand in Auckland, New Zealand, managed by Auckland Transport. It was launched in December 2014, following the decommissioning of the MAXX brand with updated bus and train liveries, staff uniforms, wayfinding si ...

brand. The Northern Busway (opened in February 2008) provides

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

to Auckland's North Shore. Frequent long-distance services, principally operated by

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

and its subsidiary Newmans, link Auckland with all the main centres throughout the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

Rail services

There are four suburban railway lines in Auckland – the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is a ...

Lines. Urban rail services are operated by

Transdev Auckland Transdev Auckland, formerly Veolia Transport Auckland, and Connex Auckland was a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia that ran Auckland's urban passenger trains under contract from Auckland Transport on infrastructure owned and managed by KiwiRail ...

on behalf of

under the AT brand. Since the early 2000s, there has been a substantial increase in services, with trains now operating every 10 minutes on the Western, Southern and Eastern lines at peak times. Starting with the opening of Britomart station in 2003, a series of investments has increased ridership to over 20 million annual boardings. These included double-tracking the Western Line, reopening the Onehunga Branch line, a programme of station upgrades and electrification of the entire Auckland suburban network between Swanson in the west and Papakura in the south. On 20 July 2015 the rollout of electric train services was completed. In 2015–16, work started on the

City Rail Link The City Rail Link (CRL) is a rail project currently under construction in Auckland, New Zealand. The project consists of a 3.5 km long double-track rail tunnel underneath Auckland's city centre, between Britomart Transport Centre and M ...

project, which will improve network capacity and significantly reduce travel times between Western Line stations and the city centre. Auckland has only one long-distance passenger service: the

Northern Explorer The ''Northern Explorer'' is a long-distance passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Thre ...

, operated by

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail ...

under the brand name The Great Journeys of New Zealand. A service operates three times per week in each direction between Auckland and Wellington.

Ferry services

A number of North Shore commuters who work in the Auckland CBD catch ferry services from Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater or Birkenhead. Services also connect the city with

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

Gulf Harbour Gulf Harbour is a development some 4 km from the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, towards the northern end of Auckland, New Zealand. It has one of the country's largest marinas, one of the country's top golf courses, and is regarded as a ...

and Half Moon Bay. Ferries to

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...

are less regular, with services every 1–2 days, depending on the time of the year and the weather. Rangitoto,

Motuihe Island Motuihe Island (official name: Motuihe Island / Te Motu-a-Ihenga) lies between Motutapu and Waiheke islands in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, near Auckland. The island measures , of which around are remnants of coastal forest. The island is ...

and

Tiritiri Matangi Island Tiritiri Matangi Island is located in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, east of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in the North Island and north east of Auckland. The island is an open nature reserve managed by the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi Incorp ...

and the Coromandel have services usually focused on weekend and tourist trips.

Sea transport

Commercial shipping

The

, located on the

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

in Auckland's city centre, is New Zealand's largest and busiest container port. The 55 hectares of wharves and storage areas (mostly for containers, cars and other large shipments) are almost exclusively situated on

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

, mostly in the former

Commercial Bay Commercial Bay ( mi, Onepanea) was a bay on the southern side of the Waitematā Harbour that defined the original extent of the Auckland waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand. It was framed by two substantial headlands, Smale's Point dividing ...

, Official Bay and in Mechanics Bay. The main port facilities are: * Ferguson container terminal * Bledisloe multi-purpose terminal * Multi-cargo facilities on Captain Cook, Marsden, Jellicoe, Wynyard and Freyberg wharves In 2010 the Ports of Auckland contributed around $250 million per year to the Auckland economy.
2015 Port Future Study
highlighted that in the longer-term future the port will either need to expand in its current location or move to a different location, most likely either in the

or the

Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames ( mi, Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of ...

Cruise ships

Auckland is an increasingly popular cruise ship port, with both Queens Wharf and

Princes Wharf Prince's Wharf, or Princes Wharf, may refer to: * Princes Wharf, Auckland Princes Wharf is a former commercial wharf on the Auckland waterfront, in Auckland, New Zealand, which has been redeveloped into a multi-story high-class mixed-use develo ...

regularly being used as cruise ship terminals, especially during summer months.
Spectacular cruise ship season begins
'' (from the

website, 25 October 2006) Over 100 cruise ships annually visit Auckland.

Air transport

With Auckland being the largest city of New Zealand, a great number of international and national flight connections exist. Main routes are to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and to the

US West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. Within New Zealand, the main connections are to the capital in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

and to the main city of the South Island,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. However, smaller planes fly to almost all other cities and to many small airports all over New Zealand. Historically, Auckland had first been served by flying boat services from Mechanics Bay and

Hobsonville Hobsonville is a suburb in West Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The area was administered by Waitakere City Council until the council was amalgamated into Auckland Council in 2010. Hobsonville Point, formerly the location of th ...

. As aircraft such as the Short Solent and

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North Ea ...

were replaced by land-based planes, the first airport was opened at Mangere, supplanting earlier airfields at Ardmore and

Airports

, New Zealand's largest airport, lies beside

, in the southern suburb of Mangere. It is a major base for

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...

. A new runway is planned north of the main airport area, with a shorter length well suitable for the booming intra-New Zealand flight market. There were proposals in the 2000–2007 period to redevelop the airport at

, an

RNZAF The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...

airbase in Waitakere, to the northwest of the Auckland conurbation. The proposals became a political issue, partly resolved by the election of an anti-airport mayor in North Shore City, and finally resolved by the amalgamation of all Auckland councils into

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a ...

in 2010. The proposals had also been opposed by the government. Most private flights and light aircraft operate from the three smaller General Aviation (GA) airfields at the edges of the Auckland conurbation; Ardmore Airport south of the city which is NZ's busiest airfield in terms of movements, North Shore Aerodrome to the north and Parakai Airfield to the north west. Mechanics Bay near the city centre, was the first international airport, and was used for many years as a base for

flying boats A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusel ...

TEAL alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...

and

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

Tourist Air Travel Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and Sea Bee Air. The area now holds a

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

and the

Auckland Marine Rescue Centre The Auckland Marine Rescue Centre is the control centre for the Coastguard Northern Region and Surf Lifesaving Northern Region, New Zealand (responsible for the region from Paihia to Thames, including the Hauraki Gulf). It also houses other ma ...

. A Royal New Zealand Air Force facility at

has been vacated and is currently under redevelopment primarily as a residential area, although some light commercial and industrial uses (for example super-yacht building) are present.

Walking and cycling

Cycling

Before 2015 there was relatively little investment into improving

cycling infrastructure Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...

in Auckland, with most facilities being simply "paint on a road".This led to low rates of cycling, with the 2013 census recording only 1% of journeys to work being made by bicycle.Sustainable and safe land transport
(from

Statistics New Zealand Statistics New Zealand ( mi, Tatauranga Aotearoa), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats ...

. Accessed 2 May 2008.) Increased funding for cycling from the

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = ...

and

in the mid-2010s led to the development of higher quality cycling infrastructure in Auckland, including th
Grafton Gully cycleway
th
Quay Street cycleway
and Te Ara I Whiti (the Lightpath) between 2015 and 2017. Overall, 52 kilometres of new cycleways is planned to be delivered between 2015 and 2018. These improvements have already led to growth in the uptake of cycling. The northwest cycleway, which links with a number of projects delivered in recent years, saw its usage increase by 44% as a result of these improvements.

and the New Zealand Transport Agency have developed a ten-year investment programme for cycling in Auckland that focuses on rolling out high quality cycling infrastructure to different parts of the city.

Walking

All travel begins and ends with a walking trip, even though a relatively small proportion of "journeys to work" are made primarily by walking or jogging. At the 2013 census 4.5% of Aucklanders walked or jogged to work, up from 3.9% in 2001. Efforts are being made to improve the attractiveness of walking. A number of

shared space Shared space is an urban design approach that minimises the segregation between modes of road user. This is done by removing features such as kerbs, road surface markings, traffic signs, and traffic lights. Hans Monderman and others have sugg ...

projects were planned in several streets in the

Auckland CBD The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson. It is New Zealand's l ...

. These upgrades aimed to improve the ability of pedestrians, cyclists and (slow-speed) motor vehicles to share the same transport spaces. Elliott Street, Darby Street, Lorne Street, Fort Street, Jean Batten Place, and Fort Lane have been converted into shared spaces since 2011. The portion of Federal Street between Wellesley Street West and Victoria Street West has also been made into a shared space.

References

External links

Fullers
The

Fullers Ferries Fullers Group Limited, trading as Fullers360, is a ferry and tourism company in Auckland, New Zealand. It operates in the Hauraki Gulf and Waitemata Harbour. Fullers Group is the latest in a long line of almost continuous harbour and gulf ferr ...

company is the main provider for commuter services.
SeaLink
Formerly Subritzky, ferry service to

Waiheke Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most ...

and Great Barrier.
360 Discovery Cruises
Harbour Cruises and trips to Tiritiri Matangi Island, Motuihe and Coromandel
Auckland Motorways
(a private website covering the Auckland motorway system) {{Auckland