I’m currently living in a flat in Parnell. One of my flat mates Laura works on Ponsonby Road and wants to catch the Inner Link to work.
Unfortunately, her bus journey from Parnell to Ponsonby is made intolerably long by the “Kink in the Link” that occurs through Newmarket. You can see the kink in the route map below, where the green line (representing the Inner Link) circles around Nuffield Street in behind Newmarket Train Station.
The kink in the Link is actually a game-changer for Laura’s travel choices: Her journey from Parnell to Ponsonby (which takes only 15 minutes to drive) takes 30-40 minutes on the bus. And at peak times a good 5-10 minutes of this travel-time is directly attributable to the Kink , which requires buses to navigate through some of the busiest and most congested streets in Auckland (all without any bus priority I must add).
Some might say that the Kink allows the Inner Link to access destinations on the southern edge of the town centre. But this access is also provided by hordes of other buses (including the new Outer Link) that travel from the city along Khyber Pass and/or Parnell Rise to the southern edge of Newmarket and beyond.
What is happening here is that the kink is increasing access for a few people, but at the expense of mobility for the majority. Everyone on the Inner Link in this part of the city who is not travelling to Newmarket must endure an additional 5-10 minutes of travel-time so that a few people can avoid walking 400m.
From where I’m sitting the kink in the Link needs to be ironed out. Instead of running all passengers around the mulberry bush, I’d suggest NZ Bus remove the kink through Newmarket and require that passengers walk from one of the existing stops on the northern edge of Newmarket. After all it’s only a couple of hundred metres.
Inner Link buses travelling between Parnell and Ponsonby could then provide an orbital connection that was at least somewhat competitive with cars. Only then can Laura trade in her car (and possibly even her tricycle) and start catching the bus to work.
Unless I am missing some redeeming feature of the Kink? If so, please enlighten me.
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It does provide connection to Newmarket Train station.
Yes, it does. But does that connection make it worthwhile? Especially when so many other buses also provide that connection? And the walk to the station from another stop is only a few hundred metres? I’m not convinced feeding the rail station is worth the de-tour, but I’d be interested in seeing the numbers.
If there was a decent northern entrance the station would be really close to your shortened route.
I agree it’s a dumb detour.
Probably have to wait for the economy to improve a bit first so the space above the junction can hopefully be developed some day along with a northern entrance to the station (for those that don’t know the air rights for this were sold off long ago). I guess that AT could arrange to build a temporary entrance in the form of an pedestrian bridge but there are plenty of other things that they could probably spend their money on.
Yes good point and worth exploring how to improve access to Newmarket station from the northern side, for a whole load of reasons.
With decent station access and better pedestrian connections it wouldn’t be an issue. However…
If there was a large and decent stop near the corner of Broadway, you’d solve some of the issue.
The direct connection with 277 and the other shops must be used by a reasonable number of people?
Otherwise it’d run directly between Parnell Rd & Khyber Pass.
Would it be better if it ran Parnell Rd, Broadway, Morrow/Mortimer, Gillies, Crowhurst, Khyber Pass? It services pretty much the same area and shouldn’t get so stuck in traffic?
Yes it may be used by people accessing 277, but the more important question is whether these people would stop using the Inner Link altogether if it was pulled back 400m? My guess is that the majority would not, because it’s only a wee walk.
Is 277 a sufficiently large destination to sacrifice the Inner Link’s orbital structure?
The key trade-off is: a) stop at door to 277 but few cross-town trips or b) stop 400m from 277 and many more cross-town trips. It’s an open empirical question which would generate more trips; my hunch is the latter.
I was a long time Grafton resident, and used the Link frequently for shopping trips, as did a lot of residents in the stretch from K-Road through Parnell. These trips are a small percentage of daily patronage, but are a relatively large percentage of trips after working hours.
While it is tempting to take a triage approach to public transport in Auckland, to cut the weakest routes in order to maximize commuter services, this approach will lead to disengagement from public transport culture by the general populace. Having to be in the habit of memorizing timetables before you travel, and planning your evening around a bus journey to the shops is a huge barrier to public transport uptake. What the Link did well was turn up at regular intervals, and provide cross town routes for central Auckland dwellers. That alone made it worth a full stage fare rather than a partial inner city fare on one of the regular scheduled routes that passed through the inner suburbs.
But Nic, there’s a whole load of other buses that run from Grafton (either Khyber Pass or Park Road) and onto Newmarket (and vice versa) that you could use for these trips.
Given that you could have used other services, do you still think you should route the Link through Newmarket in a way that makes it useless to any orbital trips? I’m seeing very large losses for very little gain.
277 *is* the primary destination for discretionary travel to Newmarket. I am in full support of using Mortimer Pass/Morrow Street rather than the loop though.
The Link has the advantage of easy branding too. Why select one of a myriad of buses with unclear destinations, if you can just get on the more frequent colour designated bus. Suburban users of public transport have an easy time of route finding as they have ultimately, one or two bus numbers to choose from, and from those numbers can derive numbers of routes that will get them quickly to their nearest suburban transit hub/shopping centre.
I lived in the inner suburbs of Auckland from 1993 until 2009. Look at the much maligned ‘multicolor spaghetti’ map of Auckland bus routes that you feature from time to time, and cross reference with the places that somebody who lives in the inner city would need to travel to on a day to day basis. How would you go about travelling from Grafton to the University for work, then K-Road in your lunch hour, then meet friends after work in Grey Lynn, then pick up food at Vic Park New World or 277, then home for dinner? Or for a non Link centric route, how would you travel from Grey Lynn to Silverbell for dumplings, and then on to a dinner party in Parnell?
There is so much emphasis on long haul routes, that simple travel around the inner city/suburbs is a nightmare for residents. The Link route could be streamlined, but it was also designed to hit the maximum amount of useful destinations for residents and tourists. Streamlining has already eroded the utility of the route. It would be sad to see it degraded more.
P.s. Your suggestion about an alternative route to the west is definitely worth exploring.
Surely the purpose of going around the block is simply to turn the bus around. You can’t do a U-turn in a bus in busy Newmarket.
Or just go Broadway to Khyber Pass and the opposite.
The question is not about how the bus should be turned around, but whether the route should take it along Broadway in the first instance.
It doesnt need to turn around if the kink is eliminated — it just carries on straight up Khyber Pass (or turns left into broadway if it is going the other direction).
or to provide a smoko for the drivers. This is more infuriating than the diversion in my experience – why drivers cannot hop off one bus, take a break and then drive the next bus (or next but one, whatever timing works) on a circular route like the Link is beyond me. Simple way to improve customer experience on this route.
I agree it should go. This is not just any 400m walk either, it is one of the easiest 400m walks in town, completely covered the whole way, no roads to cross and lots of interesting shops. Why wouldn’t you want to walk it?
In defence of the kink, though, it does provide a possible lay-over for buses by breaking up the loop. Do they use it for that at all?
“Integrated Land Use” – more pedestrian movement between the bus stop and the train station / shopping mall entrance is a good thing. Convenience is not always about being dropped at the door of your destination, right? Especially in a major town centre like Newmarket.
Sorry, I misunderstood. I guess it comes down to how well should Newmarket be covered. Take the bus along the main drag, or make people walk? I’m guessing the stops on the loop portion are too popular to give up.
Yes, you’re right that it is about the degree to which you service Newmarket – but just remember that there are numerous other buses that ply this route which one could use to access destinations on the south side of Newmarket. Notwithstanding trains, from Grafton and the soon to be constructed Parnell stop …
The whole of broadway is really slow. What about sending it down Carlton Gore instead.
Agree fully Stu, I raised this issue when the route was proposed.
Additionally the Outer Link has a fairly pointless [but less delaying] kink at the end of Jervois Rd, that seems hard to justify.
It’s almost like there is some idea that time isn’t important to bus users…?
Yes that kink is also annoying: I think it has something to do with road geometry and stop locations (but nothing that could not be ironed out with a bit of CAPEX.
I know of a lot of people living south and east of Newmarket who already walk a fair amount of distance to Newmarket just to catch the Inner Link (myself included). During morning peak it takes around one and a half to twice the time to walk – mainly because of long waiting times at traffic lights and intersections. If there’s an extra 400m to walk through busy Newmarket – where the footpaths are always crowded – I reckon heaps of these people will just give up. Would be interesting to have a look at passenger numbers / boarding data – are these available anywhere?
By the way, the Outer Link and other buses go right past my place, but cost twice as much (Newmarket is a different stage) and doesn’t go where I want to go, meaning I’d have to transfer which will cost twice as much again.
Without knowing where you are heading it is hard to comment. My suspicion is that many of your fellow passengers would find an alternative bus that was not too bad.
With respect to the impact of fare stages, then that is a somewhat separate issue (it would, for example, be fixed if Auckland moved to a distance-based fare). I’d strongly resist any suggestion that we design our PT network around fare stages; in fact I’d argue that the relationship should go in exactly the opposite direction!
If there are already a lot of buses going from Parnell to Newmarket then why doesn’t Laura just catch one of those and transfer to the Inner Link at Newmarket?
Because it is much easier to drive. For a 20 minute journey, there would be far too many uncertainties and waiting times. Plus, relying on one Auckland bus is more than enough stress let alone two…
Yes, Phil’s right: The transfer issue is a killer for short trips, especially given the limited frequency/reliability of services in Auckland.
Yeah what is it with that Jervois Road kink? I tried the Outer Link first time the other day. Thought the Jervois Rd bit was kind of weird.
I think all the link buses are good for Auckland PT (I haven’t tried them in peak time mind you). The closest orange link stop for me is Epsom. I’d love to have been able to then get another bus down Pah rd without having to pay again, (including an extra stage for going through Greenwoods Corner)!
Proper integrated ticketing now please 🙂
Oh and I agree Inner link around Newmarket kink is pretty pointless and a waste of time.
This is example No. 296 of reasons why we need proper integrated ticketing and fares in Auckland. We need simplified, networked, bus routes.
P.T. is a game of what is best for the greatest proportion of people. Unfortunately this does not always appear to be reflected in the vast over-provision of route options to cater for anyone and everyone.
In this case Newmarket as a major destination and also a pick up point would well and truly trump the presumably low number of people travelling from Parnell to Ponsonby. Those people also have a number of other options via the CBD, although this may take 30-40 mins also with a transfer. One bus is probably preferable to most people.
Yes, but that doesn’t mean that the Link should travel all over Newmarket looping around ‘like a drunken sailor’ for 7-10 minutes does it?
Its a trade-off. Do we need the bus to drive to a shops only 500m down the road at a cost of adding 7-10 minutes onto a journey time?
Maz, you’re right – but I’m suggesting that this is one area where we have got it wrong and created a route whose function overlaps with many other routes. Remember that if you re-routed the Link away from 277 then there are any number of other services that you could use to get to there from destinations to the west and north (assuming people were not prepared to walk the extra 400m from the Link). So we’re using the Link to duplicate existing services, while undermining the potential for the Link to provide true cross town connectivity.
I fully agree that transfers are sometimes necessary, but they are a killer for short trips.
I agree with the others Maz. This kink is pointless, and the link without the kink would still service Newmarket better than it does now because it would be more efficient. I agree public transport is about the ‘majority rules’ to make it viable, but it is also about efficiency. The inner link is already viable, and so to increase what we call ‘amenity’ and efficiency for users we should be losing the kink in our link. Esp when the kink is so well serviced by other routes.
If you favour efficiency over convenience, you end up stunting the growth of public transport culture. Liveable cities need reliable public transport routes. You need to be able to walk up to a bus stop or station and get on a train without planning to be there at the correct scheduled time. One of the primary arguments for an automobile centric city is convenience. You can get in your car when you want, and go wherever you want. Those living near anything but the most minor public transport routes should enjoy the same convenience.
Pruning services in the name of efficiency will have short term gains, but will not in the end result in patronage growth outside of peak commuter hours.
Nic, this is not about pruning services. It’s about identifying where you there are redundancies in the network that result in an inefficient use of resources. Pulling the kink out of the Link would not leave these passengers to rot. They could either a) walk 400m more or b) catch of the other buses that also travel this route.
I’d wager that any loss in patronage would be minimal (with most people switching to another service) and eventually offset by additional patronage elsewhere on the Link. Not only would cross-town trips like Laura’s suddenly become possible (where they currently are not), but you also get an increase in frequency/reliability everywhere else on the Link.
P.s. Most of the rest of your comment is not really relevant to questions of PT network structure. I’d argue that these sorts of improvements deliver better running speeds and hence allow for resources to be reinvested in increased frequency, which in turn allows for the “turn up and go” type system that you seem to desire.
The kink seems to be something to prop up the Nuffield St “Fashion precinct”. I doubt anyone shopping in Nuffield uses the bus…
A more pressing issue of course is “When is Zane from NZ Buses going to make good his promise of turning down the damn 91 decibel door opening and closing alarm?”
I’m about a week away from filling every speaker with expanding foam.
It is the single most painful part of Link travel.
Zane? Zane?
Geoff – I really sympathise with your poor abused ear drums. I actually moved away from Mt Eden Road to Parnell and so now walk to work, escaping the pain of the bus sounds.
I agree: The sound of the bus stop/ door opening sound on the NZ Buses is TERRIBLE. TERRIBLE I SAY! And it’s not just the Link; it’s many of the other buses as well.
In the meantime, have a listen to this bad boy: http://youtu.be/_aYZF8ghnm8 if you have not already seen it. So when you feel like smashing the speakers, just remember that at least the NZ Buses are not “murdering a goose.”
“Just walk a couple hundred metres more.” 😀
This is a common apathetic response by traffic engineers when pedestrians complain that they want a signalised midblock crossing.
I do the opposite – travel from Ponsonby to Parnell for my commute. A couple of pointers:
– isn’t it quicker to go the other way through the city (depends on what part of ponsonby and Parnell you are talking about I guess)
– Just deal with the extra time – load up the iPad and use e time to catch up on video and the news. Beats driving
– walk – it takes the same amount of time as the bus and is a nice walk in summer (Parnell rise, symonds street, k-road, ponsonby road)