Fred Taylor Drive, Westgate – Bus Lanes Fred Taylor Drive, Westgate – Bus Lanes
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Project update
The bus lanes along Fred Taylor Drive will go live on Monday 4 November.
These lanes will be operational 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday only.
The SH16 citybound on-ramp is operating during morning peak hours, 6:30am to 9:30am, Monday to Friday.
The changes will help the new northwestern bus services, such as the WX1, be more reliable. They will make it faster and easier for people to travel around their community and into the city.
Project overview
Download the updated design (PDF, 2.26MB).
By 2046, there will be nearly triple the number of people travelling along the Northwestern Motorway (SH16). More people need to travel by bus and multiple occupancy vehicles, or congestion will get worse, and journeys will take longer.
On 12 November 2023, Auckland Transport (AT) launched a new bus route, the Western Express (WX1), along with other significant improvements to bus routes in the area. The changes include 3 new bus interchanges at Westgate, Lincoln Road and Te Atatu; approximately 4 kilometres of new bus lanes; and more than 40 new bus stops. The WX1 now runs in both directions between Westgate and the City Centre every 10 minutes from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.
As part of these changes, we want to install bus lanes along Fred Taylor Drive to give priority to buses and improve the reliability of bus services.
Project details
We engaged with the community about these changes in August 2023 and again in May and June 2024. We used mail, social media and community sessions held at NorthWest Shopping Centre.
Proposed changes
Fred Taylor Drive
We are installing westbound and eastbound bus lanes on Fred Taylor Drive. The bus lane will be on the inside lane of Fred Taylor Drive in the Massey-bound direction (westbound). The existing short right-turn lane onto Maki Street from State Highway 16 (SH16) ramps will be extended to provide a dedicated through lane for buses. The existing traffic island will be cut back to accommodate the changes.
We are also installing a bus lane on the existing middle lane in the eastbound direction towards Hobsonville Road. The proposed bus lane will extend from the Tawhia Drive intersection to the Gunton Drive intersection. After the Gunton Drive intersection, general traffic will be able to use the rightmost lane to turn onto SH16. When travelling from Tawhia Drive to Gunton Drive, general traffic can still use the leftmost lane to turn left onto Maki Street and Gunton Drive after Maki Street.
The proposed bus lane on Fred Taylor Drive will operate 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Fernhill Drive
We will be allowing southbound buses to go straight from the left turn lane at the intersection with Cabernet Crescent. The signal phase currently allows both left turn and through traffic to go at the same time, so no pre-emptive bus phase will be needed.
The traffic island at the slip lane will be cut back to allow buses to go straight through to the bus stop next to the intersection.
SH16 city-bound on-ramp
We will repurpose the left-hand lane of the on-ramp as a bus lane during morning peak hours, from 6:30am to 9:30am.
This will require an amendment to the NZ Transport Agency Traffic Controls on State Highways Bylaw 2017/14 for it to become legal and enforceable.
Project benefits
Public transport reliability – Bus services will run safely and be more punctual, making it more reliable for people trying to get around the northwestern area, and in and out of the city centre.
Climate – with public transport being a more sustainable travel option, there will be fewer cars on the road and will reduce carbon emissions.
To contact us about the project, please email projects@at.govt.nz.