Auckland is the 'slowest city' - traffic report

  • 09/01/2017
Auckland traffic levels slowest
Auckland has the longest morning peak-time in Australasia, from 5am - 10am.

Auckland commuters probably won't be surprised to hear their roads scored the "worst across most measures" in a new traffic report.

The Austroad report compares traffic levels and time around main cities in New Zealand, Australia and North America. Auckland is grouped with Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide which are all of similar size.

But Auckland's congestion levels equal Melbourne's - despite being only one third of the population.

Austroad's congestion and reliability review advises road-users in Auckland allow 45 percent extra travel time for their journey, but says even so, one out of 10 people won't make it.

The city also performs poorly for morning and afternoon 'peak time' reliability, scoring only 10-12 percent  meaning the time it should take you to get somewhere isn't often right.

Auckland also has the slowest motorways, moving at an average of 77.6kmh between 5am and 10am. St Lukes Road is notably sluggish, crawling at an average of 22kmh.

Shore-bound city limits give little room for motorways to expand, the report says.

"Auckland's geography, particularly its harbours and waterways, impose constraints on the transport system, meaning the main transport links are confined to narrow corridors."

Auckland also has poor public transport usage, the report says, with only 11 percent of commuters opting for the bus or the train, compared to 23 percent in Wellington.

"Compared with other cities there is a lower level of public transport provision for commuters. There exists highly available and low cost parking in Auckland which encourages commuters to drive."

Austroads says if you choose to drive, plan ahead.

"Consumers today can use a smart phone to select the best route for their journey, access congestion and road closure data in near real time, allowing them to plan ahead, select the best route and navigate around incidents."

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