The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is concerned weekend rail bus replacement services are failing passengers, and it shows senior management at Auckland
Transport still have no idea of what is happening at the coalface.
PTUA National Coordinator, Jon Reeves, caught the 5:01pm service from Papakura to Britomart Station last Saturday
afternoon. “I was disappointed to see AT has replaced two half-hourly 350 seat trains with just one, hourly, 40 seat bus
all weekend between Papakura and Otahuhu (to connect with trains to and from Britomart).” Reeves said. The bus was full.
The disastrous service does not stop there. Only one space is available on the rail bus service for passengers in
wheelchairs. If more than one would like to catch the rail bus they must wait an hour for the following service. “That
is appalling. It is not fair and not first world public transport for disabled passengers” Reeves added.
The trifecta in AT’s failings is that the rail bus replacement services, with timetabled transfer to connecting trains,
is far slower than the normal train timetable. Reeves said “As I experienced, even with average to light road traffic
the rail bus could not keep to the slower timetable and even arrived at Otahuhu station five minutes after the scheduled
connecting train had left the station, adding another 15 minute wait to the slow journey to Britomart. The journey took
over one and a half hours by public transport from Papakura to Britomart!” By comparison, that can be completed in 30
minutes by car on a late Saturday afternoon.
An Auckland Councillor also caught the Rail Bus replacement service with his family from Puhinui to Newmarket late last
Saturday evening. The Puhinui – Airport AirportLink bus operates 6 times per hour only to disappoint passengers with
just one rail bus replacement operating per hour each way between Papakura and Otahuhu train station.
Rail Upgrade Important – But So Are Passengers
While work on the rail corridor is very important, at least AT could run rail bus replacements at the same frequency as
the cancelled train services. They must also ensure connecting trains do not leave the transfer station until the rail
bus arrives. Jon Reeves said “However, for too long Aucklanders have put up AT’s well paid senior management delivering
sub-standard passenger services. Weekend rail bus replacements are the icing on the cake of their incompetence.”
The PTUA wants to see all rail bus services frequencies to match the cancelled trains, at a minimum. Our organisation
does not believe senior management are competent in managing public transport. “If this was the private sector, AT’s
senior (mis)management would be “pivoting” into new careers” Reeves said.
If a member of the PTUA was on the Board of Auckland Transport we would be asking senior management the hard questions
to get their act into gear for bus, train and ferry users of Auckland. The PTUA will be watching the situation to see if
AT will make immediate improvements to rail bus replacement services.