City guide article

Buses

Auckland’s public transportation system isn’t the greatest; however, they offer sufficient bus and train services to get you around the city. An interesting mode of transportation available for shoppers, is the City Circuit Red Bus. This bus service, which is free, goes around the inner city area of Auckland in continuous 10 minute loops. This service is available for shoppers and visitors to hop on and off of 7 days a week from 8AM until 6AM.

City guideTransportation

Overview

The environmentally friendly bus service is the white colored Link bus, which operates around the Inner City rim. This costs NZ$1.50 a trip, travels in a loop through some of Aucklands inner-city suburbs. The bus operates every 10 minutes from 6AM until 7PM (Monday-Friday), and on Saturdays from 7AM to 6PM. It operates every 15 minutes from 6 to 11:30pm Monday through Saturday, and 7am to 10pm on Sunday. Stagecoach Day and Group Passes are valid on The Link.

Stagecoach Auckland (tel. 09/366-6400), is an intra-city bus system, which offers a good service to most of Auckland’s highlights and tourist destinations. Schedule for this bus service is available at most visitor centers. Fares vary depending on the zones being traveled in but generally range from NZ$1.60 to NZ$10. For frequent riders, it is recommended to purchase a 1 day Auckland Day pass (group passes are also available), which entitles you to unlimited travel. These passes are available with the driver or terminals before boarding the bus.

The double-decker Auckland Explorer Bus is a hop on, hop off bus service that (tel. 0800/439-756 or 09/571-3119) takes tourists to 14 major attractions. Further details regarding destinations, timings and pricing are available from the website.

Warning: Auckland buses stop running around 11:30pm (earlier on some routes) Monday through Saturday, and 10pm on Sunday. If you're planning on staying out late, you can use Stagecoach's NiteRider Bus(tel. 09/366-6400), which runs from 1am to 3am on Friday and Saturday. Although bus stops often have electronic displays, giving an estimate of waiting times, they tend to lie so don’t follow them!

If one is interested in visiting other cities in New Zealand then the main long-distance bus company in New Zealand, is InterCity (09-623 1503). Newmans Coach is the travel and sightseeing wing of this bus group.

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Transportation

Metro

The train service in Auckland is somewhat limited but is still quite decent. Trains are generally clean, cheap and usually on time; however, they are not very frequent and you would need to refer to a timetable to figure out your agenda/route. In recent years, the train service has improved mainly due to increased investment in train carriages and the upgrading of many of the 36 train stations.

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Taxi

Traffic can get quite congested on the roads in Auckland but since public transportation isn’t as expansive and frequent as some other cities, tourist and locals are forced to use the reliable taxi services. Rates for taxi services range are decent. Taxis can be flagged down, ordered by phone, or picked up at taxi stands. For further information, call Auckland Taxi Co-Op (tel. 09/300-3000) or Corporate Cabs (tel. 09/631-1111).

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Car for hire

Auckland’s highways tend to get cramped and crowded during peak times, especially the Northern and Southern lines and it is generally recommended to avoid driving between 7AM and 9AM, and from 5PM to 7PM. Another downside with renting a car is that parking is a problem in central Auckland. To find parking, it is recommended to look around the Beach Road area, which costs around NZ$8 for 12 hours. Other public parking locations can be expensive. There is also metered parking available on streets but be careful to check when you get charged. Since there are a few tourist dedicated means of transportation, such as the Explorer, The Link, and the City Circuit buses, it is recommended to explore the city without a car. Also, one can take in far more of the city on foot and via public transport. Auckland Car Rentals Jucy Car Rental A2B Rentals Budget Rent a Car: Apex Rentals

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