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About Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth

Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth is responsible for investigating and planning more than 70 transport projects to support urban growth in Auckland over the next 30 years. We’re planning for future growth now, before new homes and communities are built.

Future transport projects will connect new communities, help people travel by safer, low-carbon ways and deliver essential infrastructure to future-proof the economy. We’re proud to be helping plan the transport infrastructure that will be needed to create safe, accessible and liveable communities for future Aucklanders.

Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth is a collaboration between Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. We also work closely with Auckland Council and KiwiRail.

Manawhenua has a vital role as kaitiaki for Tāmaki Makaurau. We partner with Manawhenua to ensure Māori cultural values and perspectives are considered and integrated into our transport network plans.

South Auckland is growing

People walking along a walkway in South Auckland

Over the next 30 years, there will be 120,000 more people living, working, and schooling in South Auckland. We are preparing Tāmaki Makaurau for that growth by planning solutions for improved public transport, better and safer walking and cycling options, and new and upgraded roads. We want future generations of South Aucklanders to have more choice about how they get around.

In 2018 Te Tupu Ngātahi investigated an indicative strategic transport network for South Auckland. Public feedback during the Indicative Business Case (IBC) stage showed strong support for better transport networks across Tāmaki Makaurau, including South Auckland. As part of the IBC process, the community told us they wanted to see:

  • increased transport choice (and to be able to separate shorter distance trips from longer ones)
  • improved north-south movements
  • improved access to education
  • better access to employment and recreation opportunities.

To meet these community priorities, we are undertaking planning now to improve transport networks on some of South Auckland’s existing roads, we’re planning two new bus routes, known as a Frequent Transit Network Routes (FTN).

The new bus networks, totalling around 28 kilometres in length, will connect train stations with town centres in Manukau, Puhinui, Takaanini, Papakura and Drury. Typically, FTN bus routes operate at least every 15 minutes making them efficient, direct, and attractive to users. The bus network will connect with the rail network to give people greater access to the places they want to go – like home, school, work and recreational activities.

Benefits of the future frequent bus network routes

  • Access

    Enable access to economic and social opportunities by providing high-quality public transport. By not limiting transport options, people will have more choice about where they live, work, and play.

  • Resilience

    Reliability for users and resilience to support other transport systems.

  • Integration

    Integrating with the existing transport network and current and future land uses.

  • Travel choice

    Support growth by giving future generations a real choice about how they move around in a way that is efficient, sustainable, and convenient.

The future FTN routes will have improvements like new bus lanes and bus priority at intersections to make travel times more reliable. This means people on buses won’t be delayed in congestion like they are now.

Walking and cycling improvements will also be included along the full length of the routes.

The proposed two future FTN bus routes are:

Here are the the proposed routes for both the Great South Road and Takaanini FTN Routes.

Legend

Takaanini FTN Route - Manurewa Station to Papakura Station

Rail Corridor

Great South Road FTN Route - Manukau Bus Station to Drury Central Station

Train stations

Drury Arterials Network: Ōpāheke North-South Frequent Transit Network Arterial

Future Urban Area

The new bus networks will use existing roads. While we don’t know exactly how the road layout will look yet, we are proposing new bus lanes for large sections of the network. This will mean bus passengers will enjoy a faster and more direct journey. Walking and cycling improvements will mean that people will have more options about how they travel for some or all of their journey.

During previous consultation, the community told us that they want more transport choices like improved public transport and better walking and cycling options. To achieve this, we will reallocate existing space within the road and there may be a need to widen the road in some areas.

The need to widen roads reflects our expectations for the arterial roads in the future, including improved public transport options, much better walking and cycling and using modern design standards that focus on safety and sustainability.

Where are we heading?

We are working towards lodging our Notice of Requirement (NoR) documentation to protect the land we need. Once this is finalised it will be lodged with Auckland Transport as the requiring authority. An important part of developing a NoR is consulting with people who are potentially affected, Manawhenua, the community, land owners, businesses, government and community organisations.

We’re working with Auckland Council to integrate our transport planning with the land use aspirations of the Manurewa Takaanini Papakura Integrated Area Plan (2018). A plan that outlines an urban vision for these areas over the next 30 years. It sets out the key ideas, desired outcomes and supporting transformation activities that will achieve the urban vision for the Great South Road corridor and Manurewa, Takanini and Papakura