I’ve spent the last few days looking for apartments in Auckand’s wonderful central suburbs.
And yesterday the new Outer Link service passed its first test with flying colours, when I had to get from Parnell to Point Chevalier in 30 minutes. As I sat on the bus I was just struck by the route’s usefulness, because it cuts across mid-town, right past the universities and provides a direct cross-town connection linking some of Auckland’s key suburbs.
One small feature that I particularly enjoyed was the LCD screens that provided up-to-date information on your location with respect to the route and upcoming stops. This is really useful when you’re catching a new bus route. The (positive) experience with the LCD screens on the Outer Link got me wondering about whether:
- They could be used on other high frequency bus routes, such as the b-lines
- The screens could include information on key connection points (e.g. transfer at Mt Eden Shops for b-line).
This info would help reinforce the opportunities to make connections between parts of the network where frequency reduces passenger resistance to transfers.
That’s not to say that the Outer Link is perfect. There is an annoyingly loud and repetitive buzz sound when the back doors close, as well as the bizarrely inefficient turnaround that takes place outside Bayfield School (have I missed some reason why this manoeuvre is necessary?).
Nonetheless, despite these minor foibles I have to say that I’m very enamoured with the Outer Link, so much so that I wonder how we ever survived without it. So today’s bouquet goes to the staff at Auckland Transport and NZ Bus, who have with the Outer Link provided us with a high frequency and direct cross-town orbital. Bravo!
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It certainly is a route that provides for a really large number of different trips, which is great. I’m curious how popular the route is along its southern leg between Pt Chev and Newmarket via Balmoral, Mt Eden & Epsom. Anyone know?
Yes I was also interested in that section of the route. I subsequently caught the OL home from Pt Chevalier to St Andrews Road (Epsom) and we were the only people on the bus from about St Lukes onwards.
If the bottom half does not perform they could always terminate at Pt Chev shops in the west and Alexandra Park in the east. This would turn it from an orbital into a pendulum, which was almost as useful but much shorter.
But new routes can take a while to build patronage, so we should give it at least a year before making any major changes.
There are ways of making that leg of the route more useful. You could shorten it via Stokes Rd rather than going way down to Greenlane West, or you could send it via Walters Rd & Sandringham to serve Kingsland & Eden Park rather than duplicating the 007 along Balmoral Rd.
The Stokes Road change saves about 2km, while the Walters/Sandringham diversion does not really reduce the length of the route (even if it may make it more useful).
I think the better way to increase patronage would be to revise competing routes – such as the 007 but also the hospitals routes, which draw patronage away.
In fact, the new Link structure could be the catalyst for the re-design of bus services in the inner-city, because it provides a nice frequent network around which other routes can be structured in a complementary way.
I use the Newmarket – Mt Eden leg, and it is very, very good. The only issue in this leg of the route is that the traffic signal phasing at Balmoral/Mt Eden can be too quick and only one or two vehicles can enter Mt Eden Road from Balmoral due to the congestion. In saying that, I’m very glad there’s a bus lane 50 metres into Mt Eden Road 😉
I’ve driven past it on the eve a few times in Mt Eden. AT will know the numbers, of course. It appears empty, and the huge pointless stops to allow the timetable to catch up (which are of course worse on an empty bus) can’t help it at all. I see it sitting there, doing nothing.
Yes the timing points seem to be the huge weakness with the Outer Link and a source of immense frustration to anyone taking anything more than a short trip on it. I understand that Auckland Transport do have plans to do something about it, but they have little capacity to do anything at the moment while the RWC is on.
Sure – just don’t under-estimate the OL’s effectiveness in the inner-city, where it certainly is well-used – from my initial observations at least. But it would be interesting to see the numbers from AT …
I catch the Outer Link most days to and from work, and certainly notice its popularity at peak times. It would be interesting to see what proportion of Pt Chev residents use the Outer Link compared to the 030. Some discussions I’ve had indicate that the Outer Link is much slower thanks to its timing point stops – you did amazingly well to get from Parnell to Pt Chev in 30 minutes!
I work in Parnell and live in the Baldwin Ave catchment, so normally train in. However I might give the Outer Link a go this evening, just for kicks. There is a stop on Carrington Rd only a few minutes walk from my house. Am I mad, as I will be travelling to the opposite side of the loop? Which direction should I take from Parnell – clockwise via Balmoral (my preference)or anti-clockwise via the city? Any recommendations?
I used to take the timetabled 006 from St Lukes to Newmarket. The trip took 30 minutes. Now the same trip on the Outer Link takes an hour. That’s because there is no timetable and so to ensure I get to Newmarket on time I have to turn up at the stop 30 minutes early because it may take that long for a bus to show up.
Surely that’s an exaggeration? You arrive 30 minutes early on a route that runs at 15 minute intervals? And you can get the schedule from the MAXX journey planner, if that helps.
Probably not that far off the mark. It took me 35 minutes from Meola Road to Wellesley Street today, which I thought was pretty slow.
The first time I caught the Outer to Newmarket I waited 25 minute for the Outer then caught a taxi.
Bad luck! I only had to wait 5-10 minutes both time I caught it, one during peak hour and one at 1050pm. Maybe worth giving it another chance and reporting back to the blogosphere?
The timetable is also here: http://greaterakl.wpengine.com/2011/08/17/the-outer-link-timetable/
According to the MAXX FAQ’s, the buses continue to serve Herne Bay “terminus” because it is hard to locate bus stops on the main road near Bayfield school – but the roundabout will speed things up.