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Auckland Transport has released its preferred future public transport network for the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, an option designed to make the most of the new Ō Mahurangi Penlink road while keeping a ferry option for commuters.
The plan follows the Whangaparāoa Public Transport Study, which drew more than 2300 responses from residents earlier this year. Coast residents who gave feedback said the city centre remains their most important destination, but they also want better links within the peninsula and across the wider Hibiscus Coast. They called for services that are quick, frequent, reliable and resilient, with as few transfers as possible. There was also strong support for weekend ferry services from Gulf Harbour.
At the centre of the future network is a frequent all-day bus service using O Mahurangi Penlink to connect a new Whangaparāoa Station on Whangaparāoa Road with the Northern Busway and the city. The NX2 service will run every seven to eight minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes off-peak.
A second frequent bus, the 99, will link Gulf Harbour, Army Bay, Manly shops, Coast Plaza, Whangaparāoa Station and Hibiscus Coast Station, again every seven to eight minutes at peak and every 15 minutes off-peak.
Local routes will fill in the gaps. The 980 will connect Manly shops, Stanmore Bay, Red Beach and Silverdale, running every 15 minutes at peak and half-hourly off-peak. The 988 will provide half-hourly links between Manly, Army Bay, Shakespear Regional Park and Gulf Harbour Marina.
One of the strongest themes from the public engagement was the wish to keep the Gulf Harbour ferry. The current proposal will include three sailings from Gulf Harbour in the morning, two between 7am and 9am and one after 9am, plus at least one inbound sailing before 9am. In the afternoons there will be three sailings from Downtown Auckland and at least one from Gulf Harbour between 4pm and 6pm. No weekend sailings are planned.
AT says this plan will add resilience and extra capacity when demand is highest, while off-peak travellers will use the frequent NX2 and 99 bus services.
Running both a full-day ferry and all-day Penlink bus services was ruled out as too expensive and AT said a combined option would push operating costs beyond the available budget.
The new system will not come into effect until after 2028, once Penlink is open and Whangaparāoa Station has been built.
Between now and then, AT said further work will be carried out on ferry contracts, fare reviews, bus routing and bus priority measures. Walking and cycling improvements are also flagged. More community consultation is expected in 2026 and 2027 to finalise details such as exact bus routes, operating hours and ferry sailing times.
AT said the final strategy reflects a compromise between cost, coverage and public preference. It makes use of the faster Penlink connection, increases frequency for bus users, and keeps a peak-time ferry for those who value the service.
Albany ward councillor John Watson said although it was good to see the frequent bus services leveraged off the massive investment in Penlink, the plan to reduce the ferry service was fundamentally flawed.
“In three to four years’ time, more people will actually be catching the ferry service, and it will be a more attractive option not a lesser one, especially so given all the traffic from the north, including buses, which will all be funnelling into an increasingly constrained Northern Motorway.
“The ferry commute by contrast will remain the fastest, most convenient and comfortable commute to the city. However, AT have said that because they have decided to retain the ferry service it can be scaled up in the future like all PT services that respond to demand.”
Watson noted that as the changes are still four years away, a lot will change with the transport network.
“Because of current budget constraints they’ve gone part of the way. I believe that after 2028 they will have no choice other than to scale up their anticipated ferry component.
“So for the next three to years I’d urge everyone to keep catching the ferry, keep increasing the patronage and let’s make it impossible for AT in 2028 to downsize a popular and well-supported service that is still the best way to travel to the city. Public support saved the ferry in 2024, it can scale it up again in 2028.”
