Auckland Transport and Fullers360 Media Advisory
Auckland Transport (AT) and Fullers360 are advising customers that there will be alternative transport options in place
this weekend for some ferry customers.
Due to a critical shortage of maritime crew, all Half Moon Bay and inner harbour loop services (Birkenhead, Bayswater
and Te Onewa Northcote Point) are cancelled this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, and will be replaced by alternative
transport.
There may be further delays to Waiheke Island, Hobsonville Point and Devonport services.Saturday 25 March
Bus replacements will be provided for the following:09:55 AKL – HMB & 10:45 HMB - AKL12:25 AKL – HMB & 13:15 HMB - AKL14:55 AKL – HMB & 15:45 HMB – AKL
Uber or taxi replacements will be provided for the following:07:40 AKL – HMB & 08:30 HMB -AKl18:10 AKL – HMB & 19:00 HMB -AKL23:00 AKL – HMB & 23:45 HMB-AKLSunday 26 March
Bus replacements will be provided for the following:09:55 AKL – HMB & 10:45 HMB - AKL12:25 AKL – HMB & 13:15 HMB - AKL14:55 AKL – HMB & 15:45 HMB - AKL
Uber or taxi replacements will be provided for the following:07:40 AKL – HMB & 08:30 HMB-AKL18:10 AKL – HMB & 19:00 HMB-AKL
Inner harbour loop services (Birkenhead, Bayswater and Te Onewa Northcote Point) will be replaced by a taxi or Uber
service.
Fullers360 CEO Mike Horne says the cancellation of these services is a last resort and that alternative transport
options will be in place.
“Fullers360, alongside all transport and tourism operators in New Zealand, has been faced with the challenge of running
ferry services during the peak summer season with a critical shortage of skilled employees. Cancelled services are
always a last resort for our business. Unfortunately, we simply do not have the number of staff available this weekend
to crew our vessels on these routes. We anticipate these cancellations will be a one-off due to higher levels of staff
sickness and necessary staff leave.
“We sincerely apologise to all impacted customers for the inconvenience. We do everything we can to avoid disruptions,
but in this instance it is unavoidable. Our team will continue to provide updates as quickly as possible over the
weekend regarding any unplanned service disruptions. I encourage those to travelling on our services to Devonport,
Hobsonville Point and Waiheke this week to download the MyFerry app or visit fullers.co.nz for updates.”
Auckland Transport’s Group Manager of Metro Services Darek Koper says that the shortage of skilled maritime workers is
being felt across the industry.
“We recognise that ferry operators are facing a challenging environment at present due to the ongoing skills shortage.
We will continue to work closely with Fullers360 this weekend to minimise the impact of cancelled and disrupted
services. We apologise to any customers affected by these disruptions.”
Use the AT Journey Planner: www.AT.govt.nz/JourneyPlanner and AT Mobile app to plan your journey.