Lower Albert Street bus interchange improvement Lower Albert Street bus interchange improvement
Providing easy connections between buses, trains and ferries, the Lower Albert Street bus interchange started serving some of Auckland’s busiest bus routes in April 2021. New bus shelters and seats are now ready to be installed at this busy interchange.
On this page
Project status: Construction is scheduled to take place from June to November 2022
Project zone: Central
Project overview
Auckland Transport will upgrade the Lower Albert Street bus interchange soon. The planned improvements include weather protected, high-quality bus shelters and seats to improve our customers’ experience of using public transport.
Construction is expected to start in early June and be completed in November 2022.
Traffic management will be in place, and the project team will work hard to minimise disruption to bus services, commuters and local stakeholders, while maintaining high levels of safety for pedestrians, vehicles and large equipment onsite.
What to expect
- Stops A, B, C and D at the Lower Albert Street bus interchange will be closed during construction, allowing us to install the new bus infrastructure safely.
- Some bus services will relocate to existing and temporary bus stops on Customs Street, while the central and west Auckland services will relocate to temporary bus stops on Albert Street. Read more information on temporary bus stop closures.
- Lower Albert Street will remain open for buses and courier/delivery drivers while the works are underway, with traffic management in place. Vehicle access to and from Commercial Bay underground carpark will be open at all times.
- Pedestrian crossings on both the Quay Street and Customs Street ends of Lower Albert Street will remain open, while the pedestrian crossing in the middle of Lower Albert Street will be closed during construction for pedestrian safety.
- There will be traffic lane shifts in place during construction, which will result in buses running on the wrong side of the road as well as continuous large equipment movements in and out of site areas. With the risk of pedestrian and bus conflict happening, trying to keep the pedestrian crossing in the middle of Lower Albert Street open is not viable.
- Pedestrian access to shops and amenities will not be restricted.
- Steel shelter installation can be loud, but we will mitigate as best as we can using noise mats. We do apologise for any disruption that the steel works might cause.
Project background
The Lower Albert Street bus interchange opened in 2021 as part of the Downtown programme that delivered a recognisably Tāmaki Makaurau destination along the downtown water’s edge. When the bus interchange opened, bus shelters and seats were not included in the infrastructure due to lack of funding.
In November 2021, Auckland Transport received confirmation that new funding has been secured to install the new bus shelters and seats. We are committed to continue to make Lower Albert Street a high-quality location for our customers to access public transport services.
Project benefits
The new bus infrastructure on both sides of the Lower Albert Street bus interchange will improve the experience of residents of the central, north, northwest and west to the Auckland CBD who are using the bus. New bus shelters and seats will provide enhanced levels of comfort, weather protection and ambience. To improve safety, the shelters will be equipped with additional lighting and CCTV cameras.
The interchange caters for North Shore and Northwestern buses on the tourist shop/Countdown Metro side and Central and Western buses on the Commercial Bay side.
Artist’s impression of the new Lower Albert Street bus shelters and seats.
Construction
Work will be carried out over a five-month construction period from June to November 2022.
The bus shelters are specially made for the Lower Albert bus interchange. Due to the size of these new shelters, some onsite construction is necessary. Much of these installation works will be above ground, but require large equipment to lift and place the steel shelters. Fencing will be up around stops A, B, C and D on both sides of the bus interchange.
We considered constructing one shelter at a time so bus stops won’t have to be relocated, unfortunately this option would lengthen the overall timeline of the project. It would also still require us to relocate bus stops temporarily while each shelter is being completed.
Relocating these bus stops temporarily will ensure the safety of the public and our construction workers. When construction is completed in November 2022, bus services will return to their stops on Lower Albert Street.
Timeline
- June to July 2022: Steel shelter installation on both tourist shop/Countdown Metro and Commercial Bay sides.
- August to September 2022: Shelter glass installation on both sides of the bus interchange.
- October 2022: Shelter seats installation on both sides of the bus interchange and shelter quality assurance test on the tourist shop/Countdown Metro side.
- November 2022: Shelter quality assurance test on the Commercial Bay side.
Most of our works will take place from 7am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday to achieve a shorter construction duration.
If you need to contact us, please email projects@at.govt.nz or call us on 09 447 4671.
Public engagement
In November and December 2018, we asked the community for feedback on the Downtown programme. We focused on how we could reduce any disruptions caused by construction.
We also wanted to help people learn more about all 7 projects on the wider Downtown programme.
We analysed your feedback in the report below. We've used it to refine our construction programme and think about how we'll work with the community while these works take place.
Read the Transforming Downtown public feedback report (PDF 1.4MB, 35 pages).
For more information on this project