9 September, 2020

AT Local services under threat

The AT Local public transport service will be cut or curtailed under Auckland Transport (AT) proposals that may extend Devonport’s 806 and 807 bus routes.

If AT Local continues it would no longer run as far north as Bayswater and Belmont, said AT’s senior service network planner Dave Hilson. Change was needed after what had been an extended AT Local trial and taking the 806 and 807 routes from five to seven days from late 2018, he said. “We can’t afford to run AT Local and all the bus services on the peninsula.”

Scrapping AT Local or running it in a smaller area could allow more frequent peak-time services on the 806 route to Stanley Point and 807 the 807 to Cheltenham. This would be achieved by using an extra bus on the neighbourhood circuits from Devonport wharf. The services would align better with ferries.

Off-peak route rejigs could possibly take in Ngataringa Bay, an area not currently served by buses but now home to Ryman’s William Sanders retirement village.

Brochures explaining the proposals would be delivered by 2 October to homes from Bayswater south, Hilson said. Information sessions would also be held later this month, with submissions open from 28 September until October 18.

Hilson urged people to have their say ahead of AT making recommendations to the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. A decision was expected by the end of the year, with no changes to services before then.