Malcolm McCracken
The Eastern Busway is a four-stage transport infrastructure project currently being implemented in East Auckland. It is the main project of the wider Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative. The aim is to provide a rapid transit solution in the form of Bus Rapid Transit to the East Auckland’s traffic congestion caused by the high growth in the area. Bus Rapid Transit is where buses run along a segregated right of way to avoid conflicts with general traffic.
The Eastern Busway has been a key project for the Auckland Council and Auckland Transport for a number of years. It is identified in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) between local and central government, as one of the main public transport infrastructure projects along with the City Rail Link (CRL). It is specifically mentioned as a “high priority” project to be advanced in the Draft Auckland Long Term Plan (2018-2028). However, despite its recognised significance, the key challenge for the project has been funding which has led to the delaying of starting construction and why it has been designed for construction in stages.
The Route
The route runs from Botany to the new Panmure bus-train interchange via Pakuranga, with a new bus station in each town centre. The project is split into four stages of construction. The final of which, the Botany Bus Station, will start construction in 2026.
Stage One: Panmure Station and Te Horeta Road
Stage one of the AMETI Eastern Busway was completed in 2014 with the opening of the new Panmure Station and the new Te Horeta Road. The new Te Horeta Road, linking Glen Innes and Mount Wellington, was key for the success of the busway as it removes 20,000 vehicles, including 2400 trucks, off the route through Panmure roundabout and local roads. This will allow the Panmure roundabout to be upgraded to signalised intersection in Stage Two of AMETI and increase the efficiency of the busway.
The completion of the new Panmure Interchange has already shown a positive impact with the station rising to be the 5th most used the station on the rail network, up from 15th before the upgrade and bus interchange is completed. This is due to the easy connection to the rail platforms from the bus station platforms that sit above. The implementation of the New Bus Network in East Auckland will continue this rise in patronage as the station becomes the centre bus network.
Stage Two: Panmure to Pakuranga
Stage Two consists of the new signalised intersection at Panmure, the busway on Lagoon Drive, a new busway bridge crossing the Tamaki River and the busway on Pakuranga Road. Preliminary construction is underway.
The intersection will allow buses will allow them to continue in separated lanes into Panmure Station. The busway will then run along the northern side of Lagoon Drive along with a new 4m wide shared cycle and walkway, to the new bridge crossing the Tamaki River, before continuing along Pakuranga Road to the Pakuranga Town Centre.
Stage Three: Pakuranga to Botany
In Stage Three of construction, a new bus station will be constructed at Pakuranga Town Centre as well as the busway being continued through to Botany. The new bus station at Botany will be designed to improve access to the commercial and retail centre and provide better transport links to the surrounding suburbs through feeder buses. The busway will run along the centre median Ti Rakau Drive, as seen below. The road was designed for centre running Rapid Transit when originally built. Centre running reduces conflict with general traffic allowing buses to run more efficiently with less stopping. This stage is set to start construction in 2021 and when the busway is completed there is set to be a bus every 60 seconds at peak times.
Also as part of Stage 3, there will be a new bridge across the Pakuranga Creek to allow two dedicated bus lanes and a shared cycle and pedestrian path separate from the general traffic.
Stage Four: Botany Bus Station
The Botany Bus Station will start construction in 2026 after the Busway itself is completed. It will allow the transfer from feeder buses to the buses running into the city. As well as forming the terminus for the Eastern Busway, it will provide a link to the proposed Botany to Auckland International Airport Rapid Transit route.
Costs and Benefits
The costs and benefits of the project have been well documented. Decade one, 2018-2028 by which time the project should be completed, of the Draft Long Term Plan allocates $913 million towards the project including the Reeves Road Flyover. This includes related roading improvements such as intersection upgrades and the Reeves Road flyover, as well as the segregated busway between Panmure, Pakuranga and Botany. However, this is not the total cost of the project as it does not include Stage One of the project which was completed at a cost of $180 million. Thus putting the total cost of the project at around $1.1 Billion. The Auckland Transport Alignment Project (2017 Update), put the Cost to Benefit Ratio of the project at between 5.2-9.1. This means for every $1 spent on the cost of the project, the benefits will be equivalent to $5.20 of benefits.
Benefits of a Busway over other Modes
The main reason Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was selected as the mode of transport for this project was the increased connectivity that it offers, while still providing a rapid transit option for commuters and at a cheaper price. An extension of the existing rail network would have created another complex junction on the Auckland Rail Network that already has many pinch points, while also having a much higher cost to implement. Although Light Rail would have a higher capacity than BRT, it would not have the same connectivity as the vehicles are limited to where the rails are placed. It would also still require a transfer at Panmure. This would potentially force commuters to transfer to light rail from a connecting bus before getting on heavy rail at Panmure. Buses are not limited in where they can go, so many routes can benefit time-wise from the new infrastructure even if they only travel on it for a short distance. An example of this is the 72 Route from Howick that will only use the busway between Pakuranga and Panmure but will still benefit and have a faster travel time to the Panmure Interchange.
How does the project help accommodate and support the growth of the city?
The east of Auckland has experienced rapid growth in recent years with a population of 130,000 which is expected to rise to 160,000 by 2030. The Eastern Busway is being implemented to support this growth and will go hand in hand with the Unitary Plan zoning of the area. The Unitary Plan was commenced to rezone all land under the new Auckland Unitary Council’s authority and provide for growth for housing through intensification in brownfield developments as well as new greenfield growth. The AMETI Eastern Busway is key for supporting the former, as the eastern suburbs have been zoned for intensification to medium density housing. This can be seen below with the bus route is shown by the blue line. The highest density zoning in the East Auckland area is in the three town centres that the AMETI Eastern Busway runs between and along the route.
Pakuranga and Panmure are zoned Town Centre zone, allowing for up to eight storeys of mixed-use development. Botany is identified as one of the ten metropolitan centres in Auckland. They are second to only the CBD in stature and allow buildings of up to 72.5m. The land around the three town centres has the highest residential density zoning in the area being is classified Terrace Housing and Apartment Building. This allows for higher density development of terraced homes and apartment buildings of between five and seven storeys. This zoning is generally around town centres and good transport links to support the density. Bordering these zones Mixed Urban Zone and is generally on the edge of the town centres. It allows for houses and terraced homes of up to three storeys. The majority of Pakuranga and Botany area is zoned Mixed Housing Suburban Zone which limits development to two storeys, in keeping with the current character of the area, but allows terraced style homes which the Single House Zone does not. Without the new transport infrastructure, this area would be unable to support these levels of intensification. There is also a large area in the south of the Te Irirangi Drive Section of the busway, which is zoned for a mix of industry development. The busway doesn’t just serve housing and commercial developments but industrial as well. This is a prime example of integrated planning showing how infrastructure and land development go hand in hand to enable growth.
City Planning’s Development Editor Matthew Bai commented that “Integration between transportation infrastructure and land use zoning is critical towards achieving Auckland’s goal of creating a high quality, compact urban environment. The Eastern Busway will be a transformational project for East Auckland, and I am pleased to see that zoning along its corridor allows for a high level of intensification. There have already been development proposals for land immediately surrounding Panmure Station, with further redevelopment planned for Pakuranga Town Center following its purchase by Singaporean based GYP Group. (Private note, while GYP committed $500 million (NZD) to construct new retail, office, hotels and apartments, I suspect they may simply be land banking, considering nothing has transpired since their original announcement, will have to wait for more details. No info about Resource Consent status) It is also positive to see extensive THAB and MHU zoned land, although it should be noted not all zoned capacity is fully utilized during the development phase. Additionally, while Botany Town Center has been zoned Metropolitan Center under AUP, I do not anticipate the height and bulk provisions to be acted upon for the foreseeable future due to market realities.”
The AMETI Eastern Busway project is key to enabling and supporting the planned growth of East Auckland. Currently, the area has the lowest patronage in Auckland but by providing bus rapid transit this is set to change. This is an example of Integrated planning and shows how Rapid Transit and density go hand in hand.