Bus, trains and ferries in Auckland are having to cope with increased demand particularly at the end of the school day while still operating on reduced capacity.

The number of people using public transport in Auckland has gone from 126,000 on Monday of last week to 148,000 yesterday.

Alert level 2 means public transport is managing with physical distancing restrictions leaving around 43 per cent seated capacity. The result is capacity issues on some services when schools get out for the day.

Drivers will have to leave passengers behind if the bus, train or ferry reaches the maximum capacity.

If you can travel before 2:30pm or after 4pm that will help us manage the after school rush.

And a reminder, the rules are different for dedicated school buses. Like school classrooms, they are controlled environments. Ministry of Health guidelines make it clear that physical distancing is not always practical on school buses, observing all the necessary hygiene requirements is the key priority. Schools also know which students are travelling on school buses, so contact tracing can take place, if required.

We’d like to remind schools and their students not to crowd on to trains in particular. Auckland Transport, along with its rail operator Transdev, have set some rules for coping with the after school rush. Where there are high numbers of school pupils, staff are directing children to a part of the train away from other customers.

We would like to thank the schools who are working with AT and Transdev to organise the children to board the part of the train reserved for them.

Remember we’re not accepting cash under Alert Level 2 and you get on and off the bus through the back doors. We’d recommend you register your AT HOP card to help with contact tracing if it’s needed. This will also means we can monitor passenger numbers and make fast adjustments to services if required.

For more on Alert Level 2: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/news-events/public-transport-information/

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