Auckland's Bus Service Continued

While I have complained about buses in my last post, they are an efficient mode of transport and I believe that we need to raise passenger numbers and encourage Aucklanders to use this service. For this to happen, the Council will need to designate more road space for bus lanes, (See Image 1).

Image 1: An example of an existing bus lane along an Auckland road
Source: Maharaj 2011

The town of Brighton in the UK placed bus lanes on congested roads, which led to a 16% increase in passenger numbers, (Chiles 2009). It was discovered that this was because “the bus journey - aided by the new lanes was faster,” (Chiles 2009) and buses were able to become more reliable. This example shows that the use of bus lanes allowed buses to get to destinations quicker. The bus service became more consistent and commuters were able to rely on buses, therefore more people began to use the service.

I believe that we need to adopt a similar approach within Auckland. We need to construct more bus lanes. These lanes will allow buses to pass through congested traffic and buses will become more reliable. This will also create shorter journey times, therefore encouraging members of the public to use this public transport service. More people using this service will cause a reduction in car use, which consequently will decrease carbon dioxide emissions, creating a healthier environment and ensuring that Aucklanders are using more sustainable forms of transportation.