Wellington councils considering bus corridor collaboration

Faster buses could be the outcome of closer collaboration on bus priority corridors proposed by Greater Wellington, the public transport authority, to Wellington City Council, the road controlling authority.

Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter and Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau have discussed the proposal, after support for accelerating Wellington’s bus corridors was advocated for to ministers and indicated in the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport.

As well as speeding up travel times for commuters, Cr Ponter says the proposal could ease bus bottlenecks on the Golden Mile by delivering “a second spine” for public transport along the harbour quays. 

“Rapid improvements to traffic flows and congestion along strategic corridors can be achieved with limited further planning through a variety of quick, bus priority solutions” Cr Ponter says. 

“The limit for efficient bus operations on the Golden Mile is due to be reached in 2025. While planned improvements will increase its capacity, a second spine would help to shoulder the load, offering faster cross-city connections to key regional destinations like the hospital and airport.”

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says the councils will now consider ways for Greater Wellington and city council staff to work together to achieve shared public transport objectives.

“As Wellington’s population grows, enhancing bus priority will be essential for managing congestion, reducing emissions and making our city more liveable,” Mayor Whanau says.

For Greater Wellington’s 2024 Long Term Plan review, a budget of up to $88m over 10 years will be considered for bus priority initiatives.

Following bus priority improvements already made by the city council, Greater Wellington hopes to collaborate on upgrades to bus corridors running north to south (Wellington CBD to the hospital and Island Bay) and east to west (Wellington CBD to Miramar and the airport).

For more information, visit: Greater Wellington — Response to Mayor Whanau - Golden Mile Development (external link)