Part 2: Auckland's public transport system is complex

Reliability of public transport in Auckland.

Auckland Transport is the regional public transport authority

2.1
Auckland Transport spends about $1.8 billion each year and employs more than 1900 staff.

2.2
Set up under the Auckland Council (Local Government Act) 2009, Auckland Transport is a regional public transport authority. Its purpose is to contribute to an effective, efficient, and safe Auckland transport system in the public interest.

2.3
Auckland Transport's responsibilities include:

  • identifying and contracting public transport services (buses, trains, and ferries);
  • monitoring and reviewing the performance of public transport services;
  • providing information about public transport services in Auckland;
  • upgrading and maintaining key public transport infrastructure; and
  • preparing and approving Auckland's regional public transport plan.1

2.4
It is responsible for providing more than 12,000 bus services, 500 rail services, and 300 ferry services each day.

2.5
Unlike other regional public transport authorities, Auckland Transport is also a road-controlling authority. It is responsible for planning, designing, building, operating, and maintaining Auckland's roads, cycleways, and footpaths.2

2.6
Auckland Transport is responsible for managing most of the contracts and services for school buses in Auckland and for the Total Mobility service. School bus services were within the scope of our audit, but the Total Mobility service (which subsidises transport for people with long-term impairments) was under review when we carried out our audit, and so was out of scope.

2.7
Public transport in Auckland is funded through a mix of funding from Auckland Council and central government (through the National Land Transport Fund, administered by the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi), as well as revenue from public transport fares and other sources (such as advertising, income from land held for future transport needs, and parking enforcement).

2.8
Auckland Transport is governed by a Board of Directors, who are appointed by its sole shareholder, Auckland Council. The Board employs Auckland Transport's Chief Executive, who is responsible for the organisation's day-to-day management.

Auckland Transport works with many other organisations

Setting the direction and goals for public transport

2.9
Several strategies and plans, produced by multiple central and local government organisations, guide Auckland Transport in managing the public transport system (see Figure 1).

Figure 1
Many organisations' strategies and plans shape the direction of public transport in Auckland

Figure 1 shows 9 specific and general types of documents that contribute to the plans for public transport in Auckland. Some are Council-related documents, such as the Auckland Plan 2025 and local board plans. Others include the Government Policy Statement on land transport for 2024 to 2034, the National Land Transport Programme 2024-27, and Auckland Transport's Regional Public Transport Plan 2023-2031.

2.10
Auckland Council sets the broader long-term strategic direction for land transport in the region through the Auckland Plan 2050. Auckland Council also contributes to each Government Policy Statement on land transport, produced by the Ministry of Transport. The current Government Policy Statement is the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024/25-2033/34.

2.11
Auckland Transport has a long-term network plan called Future Connect. This plan identifies critical issues and opportunities for the transport network, and informs the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2034. The regional plan and Future Connect both guide Auckland Transport's Regional Public Transport Plan 2023-2031 (the Public Transport Plan).

2.12
Regional transport network planning, including public transport network planning, also needs to align with the National Land Transport Programme 2024-27, which is produced by the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

2.13
The Public Transport Plan is the document that sets Auckland Transport's specific goals for public transport (see Part 3).

2.14
Auckland Transport's statement of intent details the work Auckland Transport will do over three years to focus on the goals in the Public Transport Plan.

2.15
Auckland Council's 21 local boards also have a role. They prepare local plans to reflect their communities' aspirations and priorities for transport, which also inform the Regional Land Transport Plan.

Co-ordination is needed to manage public transport infrastructure

2.16
Although Auckland Transport is responsible for planning and providing public transport services, it does not own or control all of the infrastructure.

2.17
Auckland Transport owns the trains and train stations that form part of Auckland's metropolitan network. KiwiRail owns and maintains other rail network infrastructure, including tracks, signals, power supply, and bridges. Auckland's metropolitan trains also share the network with KiwiRail's rail freight services. KiwiRail is upgrading the rail network and working with Auckland Transport to prepare for the opening of the City Rail Link in 2026.3

2.18
Auckland Transport owns most (but not all) of Auckland's bus stops and shelters. It does not own the buses or the roads.

2.19
As outlined in paragraph 2.5, Auckland Transport is Auckland's road-controlling authority and is responsible for the non-state highway network. The New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is responsible for the state highways.

2.20
Auckland Transport owns four of the 27 vessels in the public ferry fleet. Private operators own the rest.

2.21
Auckland Transport's ability to provide effective, efficient, and safe public transport services also depend on a range of other local and central government organisations and the private sector. Auckland Transport needs to co-ordinate well with these organisations to be successful.

Private operators are contracted to provide bus, train, and ferry services

2.22
Auckland One Rail Limited (Auckland One Rail) is contracted to provide metropolitan rail services on behalf of Auckland Transport. It is responsible for operating trains, recruiting and employing drivers and other staff, preparing timetables, operating and maintaining stations, and managing security and customer service. From 2025, Auckland One Rail will also take responsibility for train maintenance.

2.23
Auckland Transport has contracts with seven bus operators: Kinetic (which operates New Zealand Bus and Go Bus),4 Ritchie's Transport, Howick and Eastern Buses, Pavlovich Transport Solutions, Fullers360 (which operates the Waiheke Bus Company), Bayes Coachlines, and Tranzit Group (which operates Tranzurban Auckland).

2.24
These operators are contracted to provide bus services (including most of the school bus services in Auckland). They employ the bus drivers and support staff.

2.25
Auckland's passenger ferry fleet is made up of 27 vessels that are operated by four private companies: Fullers360, SeaLink, Belaire Ferries Limited, and Explore Group.

2.26
Although private operators provide public transport services in Auckland, Auckland Transport remains responsible for meeting the performance targets for public transport set out in its accountability documents.

2.27
To ensure that the public receives value for money from these contracts and that services are reliable, it is crucial that Auckland Transport monitors and reviews its operators' performance and takes action to improve performance when necessary.

Auckland Transport actively manages operator performance

2.28
Auckland Transport uses minimum service standards and contractually agreed key performance indicators and targets to encourage operators to provide reliable and punctual services.

2.29
Auckland Transport can set minimum performance expectations and manage performance by applying financial penalties or giving bonuses. It can also terminate or not renew contracts for poor-performing operators.

2.30
Although key performance indicators in contracts apply throughout the duration of the contract, the measures for reliability and punctuality in Auckland Transport's statement of intent can change every three years.

2.31
At the time of our audit, key performance indicator targets for punctuality and reliability in the operator contracts we reviewed were set higher than the performance measure targets in the statement of intent.

2.32
Higher targets assist Auckland Transport to manage both individual and overall performance because they encourage operators to work with Auckland Transport to keep improving the overall performance of all public transport services in Auckland over time.

2.33
Auckland Transport has dedicated relationship managers in place for its operators. Operators are required to attend performance committees, as well as other performance-focused forums (some of these are discussed below). We saw examples of Auckland Transport raising concerns about off-track performance in these forums, which led to commitments by operators to fix issues.

2.34
Auckland Transport set up an internal Service Change Steering Group and associated working group in April 2024.

2.35
The purpose of the steering group and working group is to oversee and implement the changes needed to improve bus, train, and ferry services.

2.36
The steering group meets regularly and includes senior leaders from across Auckland Transport. The steering group provides direction to the working group about any service changes required. The working group then works with operators to make agreed changes (for example, adding new services, revising timetabling, or increasing vehicle size to add capacity).

2.37
A Poor Performance Group formed in early 2024 to review bus services that were not meeting expectations. The group now meets monthly to establish plans to fix route-specific performance issues.

2.38
The Poor Performance Group reviews performance using information in monthly operational performance reports. These reports were introduced in May 2024 and provide updates on key activities, insights, and risks. They also give reliability and punctuality scores for each type of transport and operator.

2.39
Although ferry and train performance information is provided in the monthly operational report, ferry and train services are not discussed by the Poor Performance Group. We were told this is because ferry and train performance is measured differently to buses. For example, boardings per hour is not calculated for ferries, and trains have relatively stable timetables and frequency of services. We were told that Auckland Transport plans to include performance of ferries in the Poor Performance Group later in 2025, but there are still no plans to include trains.

2.40
We support Auckland Transport's intention to consider the other types of public transport performance as part of the Poor Performance Group. We think this is particularly important for maintaining focus on reviewing and improving performance across all services, particularly given previous issues with reliability and punctuality across all types of transport (see Figures 3 and 4 in Part 5).

1: Proposals were announced in December 2024 that would transfer the responsibility for approving the regional land transport plan and regional public transport plan from Auckland Transport to Auckland Council.

2: Proposals were announced in December 2024 that would transfer the road-controlling authority responsibilities from Auckland Transport to Auckland Council, giving greater decision-making powers to Auckland's 21 local boards.

3: The City Rail Link will add new rail tunnels and underground stations, redevelop some existing stations, and provide other network improvements.

4: Kinetic is the largest provider of bus services in Auckland. It operates 650 city buses throughout the region.