Manukau’s new bus station opens

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, along with Transport Minister Phil Twyford and the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, has today opened the new state of the art Manukau Bus Station.

Mr Goff says the new $49 million station represents a significant investment in a joined up public transport system for Auckland. “It makes it easier for people to switch between bus and rail and to get around the city without adding to road congestion.

“The station itself is a stand-out architectural addition to Manukau, representing high environmental standards and great design, including Maori art. Together with the adjacent train station and MIT building it represents a transformation of the old Manukau City Centre.”

The station has room for 23 buses at a time and will handle 470 buses and around 5500 passengers each day. It took two years to build with project funding from Auckland Council and the Government through NZ Transport Agency.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford says the new facility is a real asset for the area. “The people of South Auckland deserve great public transport services and great infrastructure like this new station. This is just a taste of the improvements in public transport that our Government is determined to bring to communities across New Zealand.”

The bus station is also Auckland Transport’s first project to contain a “Social Outcomes” component in its procurement process. The contractor NZ Strong had to demonstrate how it would train and employ South Auckland Maori and Pasifika Trades Training graduates. The Southern Initiative assisted in recruiting suitable young people. The Southern Initiative is an Auckland Council programme that promotes social and community innovation in South Auckland and equips Maori and Pasifika people in the area with skills and access to meaningful employment opportunities. Thirteen graduates were employed during the construction phase, all of them now have full-time jobs.

Mr Goff says, “I welcome the employment and training of local young people in the station’s construction. It showed real commitment to the local community.”

Auckland Transport Chairman Dr Lester Levy says the bus station fills in a missing link for public transport in Manukau. “It will provide easy bus-to-bus and bus-to-train connections and serve as a gateway for the South. With AT moving the city to a simpler and more integrated transport network, the Manukau Bus station together with the adjacent Manukau Train Station will be a major pull for people, investors and employers in making Manukau an even more desirable place.”

Each bus bay has its own seating area, with doors that open once the bus has parked. Commuters will also have access to plenty of shops in the station building – there are five new retail outlets, with a sixth still come.

Dr Levy says commuters can easily transfer between the trains and buses adding to the success of the Manukau Train Station.

Manukau is the 11th busiest train station on the Auckland network averaging 1650 passengers on a typical weekday. In the two hour morning peak about 400 passengers currently board at Manukau, up from around 150 in 2014. Manukau is a destination as much as it is an origin – there are almost as many passengers travelling to Manukau in the morning peak as there are who board the trains there.

The new bus station will also support the wider regeneration plan for Manukau, which is being led by the city’s regeneration agency, Panuku Development Auckland.

Working closely with AT, Panuku will work to transform the location over the next 20 years, delivering strong social outcomes and new commercial opportunities that will attract more people to central Manukau and help diversify local employment.

The first of a number of projects that form part of the plan, the upgrade Putney Way which runs adjacent to the bus station, is already underway.

Auckland Transport’s continued partnership with Mana Whenua has been an important component in the design and construction of the bus station. AT has embraced Te Aranga Māori Design Principles. In addition to the use of natural timber and prominent Iwi creative expressions. Te Aranga Maori Principles guided the design of the vital stormwater management system and the passive temperate controls methods.

The building's design has seen it nominated for industry awards, including a civic and arts award at the Property Industry Awards.

Bus operations will start tomorrow morning.

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