Shore gets social in peak traffic

An Auckland road infamous for its congestion could encourage locals to get social – through car pooling and public transport.

North Shore Ward Councillor Chris Darby said Onewa Rd’s T3 lane was a good motivator for locals to meet others in their community.

His comments follow locals’ accusations on Neighbourly this month that the T3 lane was not aiding traffic flow, but worsening it.

“We need to incentivise people to use a high occupancy lane, and that might be by incentivising them to talk to their work buddies and their university friends, and ride share.”

Mr Darby said drivers offering lifts to those waiting for buses was a “great idea”, as it not only encouraged use of Onewa’s T3 lane, but socialising.

“What a wonderful way of getting to know who’s in your neighbourhood.”

He said locals needed to think about congestion as “not just the car ahead that’s in the way or the one that’s following” but as “the one you’re in”.

Mr Darby said he avoided the traffic as a regular ferry user, describing the boats as “big floating living rooms”.

“I often get on the ferry and think I’ll be able to check my phone…But invariably I can’t because there’s so much conversation.”

North Shore Ward Councillor Richard Hills advocated the use of public transport at peak times.

“Around 70 per cent of people travelling in the morning are travelling in the T3 already.

“If you add T2 cars to it, it would slow down the T3, so both lanes would just be two long lines of congestion.”

Mr Hills said Kapatiki’s new double-decker buses hadn’t “fixed everything”, but he could see there had been fewer people left behind on Onewa Rd.

Lauren Young, 35, said car pooling had its benefits; commuters happy to give lifts if it meant they could drive down Onewa Rd’s T3 lane.

“I try to offer money but people are often so thankful to get to work they don’t want it.”

Miss Young’s most recent car pool from a couple who spotted her waiting at a bus stop took her from Hillcrest to Newmarket.

The 35-year-old said she enjoyed the social aspect, as “you find out a lot about people in about 20 minutes driving to the city”.

Miss Young offered a tip to future car poolers, speaking from experience – don’t spill anything sloppy.

“It was sweet and sour chicken. I felt so bad because I’d never met these people before and I spilled my lunch on their seats.”

She said it made for a memorable car ride.

Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said via email AT was aware of commuters pulling over at bus stops to offer lifts, but it was “not a common occurrence”.

He stated there were potential safety concerns if cars stopped in the T3 lane, as they could be a hazard in peak hours.

“AT would advise drivers that if they wish to use the T3 lane they should organise carpooling in advance.”

The spokesman added AT was involved in Let’s Carpool, a national service designed to connect commuters sharing similar journeys.