Aucklanders are furious at Auckland Transport (AT) after the organisation asked people to consider avoiding travelling during peak times to help ease congestion on the roads.
The beginning of March is when there's a "very congested" road network and busier public transport services, they said. The reasons for this include school and university students returning to their normal routines, as well as workers coming back from summer breaks. There has also been a shortage of bus drivers, AT said.
March is also set to be the busiest month on the transport network since 2019 as Aucklanders return to study and work, AT added.
"As we head into March, please consider travelling off-peak to avoid the busiest periods on our roads and public transport services," AT tweeted on Friday. "Buses, trains and ferries will be busier and more services will have standing room only. For those who need to travel in peak, please allow extra time."
This message caused outrage online and was labelled "ridiculous" and "insulting".
"Seriously? No wonder so many people just give up and drive now - what an embarrassment," one person said.
"Hey! I wanted to catch an off-peak bus, but AT cancelled two in a row. An hour between buses...? This is all a joke to AT management and Board, right?" another replied.
"Honestly, this is insulting to your customers. Stop," a third wrote.
Others pointed out that the reason for peak times is because that's when the highest number of people are travelling to and from work, school, or university.
"I can't imagine why so many people are using public transport at peak times," one Twitter user wrote. "'Please consider not having a job' is basically what you're asking. What a ridiculous tweet."
"Sweet - thanks for the heads up, just told my employer I'll be in at 11 and will head home at 2 to help out AT," another person said.
In a statement on Sunday, AT's manager of metro optimisation Richard Harrison thanked Aucklanders for their patience and asked them to plan ahead as roads and public transport get busier heading into March. He also said they're working with bus operators to address the shortage of drivers.
"We have made steady progress in this space and we're now at a shortfall of 393 drivers, compared with more than 500 before Christmas," Harrison said.
"Howick and Eastern added 34 new drivers in the last two weeks and are now at their full requirement of bus drivers. Waiheke Bus Company added three new drivers last week and Go Bus have been able to reduce the number of drivers required.
"Getting Aucklanders where they need to go is our priority and we will be redirecting the largest buses to routes with the highest demand – like the Northern Express and route 27 services."
AT's bus services are now at around 80 percent of pre-COVID-19 patronage levels and they are running 85 percent of their bus services. Five percent have been suspended and up to 10 percent are cancelled daily, Harrison said. Although as more bus drivers arrive, they expect these cancellations to reduce.
Auckland's ferry patronage is now sitting at around 80 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels on weekdays and up to 120 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels on weekends. Harrison said the shortfall in ferry crews remains at 36 crew members.
"The challenge at Fullers is deckhands and skippers, and it may take some time to recruit extra skippers because of the substantial training requirements."
During March there will be pinch points at peak travel times, Harrison said, so AT encourages those who have flexibility at work to consider travelling outside peak if possible. This is when there are more likely to be seats on buses, trains and ferries, he said.
But he said that AT understands many Aucklanders can't travel off-peak, so putting on extra services for those who need to travel at peak time is their top priority.
"For those who have more flexibility in work times, travelling off peak is worth considering where practical over the next few weeks, after which some of the pressure will begin to ease."
For those who do need to travel during the peak, they're asked to allow extra time for their journey and check AT's Journey Planner to see if there are alternate routes.
AT also reminds customers that access to Karekare, Piha, Te Henga Bethells Beach, Muriwai, Anawhata, Huia, Little Huia and Whatipū are compromised and to avoid travelling to these areas.
