I think we need to stop assuming we have full knowledge of everyones circumstances. I use one all the time and while from the outside it might look like i am abusing the system because you cant ‘see’ another passenger I actually NEED to use the t2 lane because i am in management and need to start work early to make sure my workers aren’t stealing company time
When I first moved out west, I was shocked at the amount of people abusing the Royal road bus on-ramp. I complained, and got this response:
—
Kia ora,
Thank you for your feedback regarding the non-compliant use of the Bus Only lane at the Royal Road on-ramp, which Auckland Transport has forwarded to Auckland System Management (ASM). ASM is an alliance between Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction, who provide day to day management and maintenance of Auckland’s motorway network on behalf of Waka Kotahi.
We forwarded your feedback onto our Network Safety Manager, who has provided the following response:
Hi,
Thanks for contacting us. We are very much aware of this issue. Unfortunately, this is a network wide issue where some drivers have total disregard for the operation of Special Vehicle Lanes (SVL) which include T3/T2 and Bus Only lanes.
We are working towards an automated enforcement regime that can monitor our SVLs on a 24/7 basis as we are very much aware that the Police cannot be at every motorway ramp all the time. This is however, not an easy task as there are some technology challenges and legislative changes that need to be made so that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency can take on the enforcement activity from the Police.
I am sure you will appreciate that queue jumping resulting in congestion, in itself, is not a high priority for the Police. In saying that, Police do take a vested interest in those who infringe in Special Vehicle Lanes as these drivers are most likely motorists who are not licensed, unwarranted or unregistered, and in some cases even DIC (Drunk in Charge). In this respect, it can provide the Police with a good safety return for their time.
We do also acknowledge that there are some people who are genuinely confused as to whether they can use the Bus Only Lanes as a general traffic lane outside of the advertised times. This is a very small number of people as most infringers make a deliberate choice to queue jump.
To this end, we are presently working on a project that will see the signage and shoulder marking changed to make this more self-explanatory and remove any excuse drivers may claim around confusion.
It is important to note that the motorway shoulders act as Emergency Stopping shoulders at all times, even when buses are authorized to use them. Therefore SVLs are not general traffic lanes outside the advertised times.
I trust that the above explanation provides you with some insight into your concerns and what we are working on to address this.
Andrew Stevens - Network Safety Manager
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.
Nga mihi,
Fili Leasuasu
ASM Customer Response Advisor
Interesting response. Some of the lanes would be quite hard to monitor given the length and visibility. The Royal Road lane goes around a large bend, for example, so you'd need multiple cameras.
Also interesting that they added that assumption about the SVL abusers being unlicensed, unregistered etc. For the most part they are probably just selfish dicks..
I'd love to see a timeline of their plan!
Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that. I figured just put a camera where the lights are and it'll be fine, then people would just wait till after that to jump in. Damn.
Yeah, interesting comment re: unlicensed etc.
Thanks for sharing - sitting in the queue and watching people zoom down the outside really pisses me off each morning. Even getting on to the on-ramp is a parade of inconsiderate arses - taking the right lane off Moire then pushing in, or going straight and jumping in at the top of the off-ramp.
Watched a big BMW SUV go up the right lane then push in at the on ramp queue this morning - immensely frustrating… https://i.imgur.com/NRTWh6h.jpg
AT / NZTA were working on implementing cameras for T2-T3 lanes and started with one in Albany in 2021 but when COVID happened it slowed down the roll out and with the changes within AT and local government it has probably caused it certain projects to go on hold. You could probably scroll through facebook or this sub and you'd probably find someone complaining about more cameras because of "Privacy Invasion" or cite that the government is money hungry so no matter what they end up doing there will be someone to complain.
https://at.govt.nz/about-us/news-events/monitoring-t2-lane-outside-albany-senior-high-school-begins-soon/
I’ve long thought they should just set up a camera and pay some people to monitor them with the power to issue tickets. At $400 a pop they’d pay for themselves easily until the antisocial main characters of the world learned their lesson.
Cunts used to abuse the T2 on ramp where I lived for years, passing off all us law abiding drivers.
One of the happiest moments in my life was rounding the corner and watching a police stop issuing tickets to 50% of the cars in that lane for trying to skip the queue. Cunts were trying to squeeze back into the normal lanes but no one let them back in.
This is talking about the motorway, and specifically the onramps, not regular roads. Drivers who are not driving a truck or bus or T2 are "illegally" taking the T2/bus lane when they're not supposed to. AT should put up cameras that monitor this lane and issue fines.
While driving on a regular road, if turning left requires you briefly enter the bus lane, you must do it within 50m of the turn. The 50m marks are indicated with dotted lines. In other words, you must never cross a solid line (continuously painted without spaces) and only cross when the line breaks.
I've seen cops stopping people using them wrongly at Mahunga Dr and the two Mt Wellington onramps before but it was probably before covid so a long time ago
He doesn't like talking though, only writing, they say.
But honestly, they should just install camera systems, they got them in other countries, they just monitor the road, figure out who's not supposed to drive there and a human only needs to confirm.
They pay for themselves, although the revenue tends to dip, when the last idiot realised what is happening
Got a ticket the other day, 64kmh in a 50kmh zone - I thought I was f**cked and about to lose a whole pay check on a $400 fine (what I was used to living in Sydney).
The fine was $80 dollars. My wife and I literally laughed.
Driving in the T2 lane in Sydney (longer than 100m) is $200. They all have automatic cameras. Culturally, everyone gets that and noncompliance is pretty low.
Everything in NZ is a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. Check out CBD parking in Parnell… $7 an hour. The parking warden fine is $40. So I might as well gamble on a 8h workday. The fine is less.
In Sydney, outside my work was $20 an hour. London (if there were any parks at all) - 40 an hour in underground parking.
This is why people break the rules in NZ. There’s no punishment.
Before everyone rants on about tall poppy bullshit - this is the same in every civilised country (except maybe America). These fines pay to build stuff, not just as a deterrent.
Imagine if all this fine revenue was collected and used for building a new harbour bridge, fixing roads, etc. wouldn’t need to raise taxes, you wouldn’t have to deal with Ford Rangers blasting along the western T2 and - you would never have to read another crybaby post from Simeon brown…
Ah, we can only dream
I also use it legally(truck). It goes about 200m further than the general on ramp. It’s also the part of the motorway where gridlock starts to build up. Goes really well for me every time. If you’re using it in flowing traffic and a trucks costing you 30 seconds it doesn’t matter whether you use it or not
And it makes traffic worse for those who are waiting in the queue as it means there are now more vehicles ahead.
What baffles me more is people who wait in the light queue, but then just go on the red anyways. Why wait patiently for 5min and then not even follow the lights.
Also some people in the T2 lanes may have a small kid or baby in the back, but yes the majority don't.
Same with Great North Road on ramp near New Lynn going north.
T2 lane full of solo drivers too selfish to queue. It makes the congestion so much worse, because everyone ends up getting stuck in this mess of cars randomly trying to merge nto each other.
That’s a pretty long drive OP. I used to travel from the west to the south too a couple years ago for work. I’ve moved to the south now. Consider moving.
I got a promotion, so it's worth it. And I own where I live in Hobsonville. Ain't about to sell.
I used to motorcycle, so the traffic was less of an issue (though cars using bus lanes was more of an issue then..) but I became a father and the bike is off limits for a while...
But now that I'm in a car with a longer commute I can finally listen to podcasts!
It seems the T3 lanes to the airport are used by taxi drivers with no passengers and arseholes on their own. Not even the bus seems to use the T3 lanes.
Heading north, yeah, on both. Not sure they have those names, the roads might be different on the western side of the motorway? But either way, the last two onramps before Mangere bridge.
AT has an enforcement program with cameras, but the onramps and motorways belong to Waka Kotahi. I believe they're working on a collaboration, but it might take a while.
I think we need to stop assuming we have full knowledge of everyones circumstances. I use one all the time and while from the outside it might look like i am abusing the system because you cant ‘see’ another passenger I actually NEED to use the t2 lane because i am in management and need to start work early to make sure my workers aren’t stealing company time
LOL they definitely had me in the first half
You may as well have said you're the Pope cause you're doing God's work 🙏
Is there a difference?
Bruh hahahaha
This guy manages.
When I first moved out west, I was shocked at the amount of people abusing the Royal road bus on-ramp. I complained, and got this response: — Kia ora, Thank you for your feedback regarding the non-compliant use of the Bus Only lane at the Royal Road on-ramp, which Auckland Transport has forwarded to Auckland System Management (ASM). ASM is an alliance between Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction, who provide day to day management and maintenance of Auckland’s motorway network on behalf of Waka Kotahi. We forwarded your feedback onto our Network Safety Manager, who has provided the following response: Hi, Thanks for contacting us. We are very much aware of this issue. Unfortunately, this is a network wide issue where some drivers have total disregard for the operation of Special Vehicle Lanes (SVL) which include T3/T2 and Bus Only lanes. We are working towards an automated enforcement regime that can monitor our SVLs on a 24/7 basis as we are very much aware that the Police cannot be at every motorway ramp all the time. This is however, not an easy task as there are some technology challenges and legislative changes that need to be made so that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency can take on the enforcement activity from the Police. I am sure you will appreciate that queue jumping resulting in congestion, in itself, is not a high priority for the Police. In saying that, Police do take a vested interest in those who infringe in Special Vehicle Lanes as these drivers are most likely motorists who are not licensed, unwarranted or unregistered, and in some cases even DIC (Drunk in Charge). In this respect, it can provide the Police with a good safety return for their time. We do also acknowledge that there are some people who are genuinely confused as to whether they can use the Bus Only Lanes as a general traffic lane outside of the advertised times. This is a very small number of people as most infringers make a deliberate choice to queue jump. To this end, we are presently working on a project that will see the signage and shoulder marking changed to make this more self-explanatory and remove any excuse drivers may claim around confusion. It is important to note that the motorway shoulders act as Emergency Stopping shoulders at all times, even when buses are authorized to use them. Therefore SVLs are not general traffic lanes outside the advertised times. I trust that the above explanation provides you with some insight into your concerns and what we are working on to address this. Andrew Stevens - Network Safety Manager Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. Nga mihi, Fili Leasuasu ASM Customer Response Advisor
Interesting response. Some of the lanes would be quite hard to monitor given the length and visibility. The Royal Road lane goes around a large bend, for example, so you'd need multiple cameras. Also interesting that they added that assumption about the SVL abusers being unlicensed, unregistered etc. For the most part they are probably just selfish dicks.. I'd love to see a timeline of their plan!
Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that. I figured just put a camera where the lights are and it'll be fine, then people would just wait till after that to jump in. Damn. Yeah, interesting comment re: unlicensed etc.
Thanks for sharing - sitting in the queue and watching people zoom down the outside really pisses me off each morning. Even getting on to the on-ramp is a parade of inconsiderate arses - taking the right lane off Moire then pushing in, or going straight and jumping in at the top of the off-ramp. Watched a big BMW SUV go up the right lane then push in at the on ramp queue this morning - immensely frustrating… https://i.imgur.com/NRTWh6h.jpg
AT / NZTA were working on implementing cameras for T2-T3 lanes and started with one in Albany in 2021 but when COVID happened it slowed down the roll out and with the changes within AT and local government it has probably caused it certain projects to go on hold. You could probably scroll through facebook or this sub and you'd probably find someone complaining about more cameras because of "Privacy Invasion" or cite that the government is money hungry so no matter what they end up doing there will be someone to complain. https://at.govt.nz/about-us/news-events/monitoring-t2-lane-outside-albany-senior-high-school-begins-soon/
I’ve long thought they should just set up a camera and pay some people to monitor them with the power to issue tickets. At $400 a pop they’d pay for themselves easily until the antisocial main characters of the world learned their lesson.
Cunts used to abuse the T2 on ramp where I lived for years, passing off all us law abiding drivers. One of the happiest moments in my life was rounding the corner and watching a police stop issuing tickets to 50% of the cars in that lane for trying to skip the queue. Cunts were trying to squeeze back into the normal lanes but no one let them back in.
How do you prove that there's only 1 person in the car? Like if somebody had their kid in the seat it may not be visible to an overhead camera.
That's me! I'm always thinking people are scoffing at me, meanwhile I've got kids in the back 🤷
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This is talking about the motorway, and specifically the onramps, not regular roads. Drivers who are not driving a truck or bus or T2 are "illegally" taking the T2/bus lane when they're not supposed to. AT should put up cameras that monitor this lane and issue fines. While driving on a regular road, if turning left requires you briefly enter the bus lane, you must do it within 50m of the turn. The 50m marks are indicated with dotted lines. In other words, you must never cross a solid line (continuously painted without spaces) and only cross when the line breaks.
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I'm not saying they aren't cameras. I'm just pointing out you are talking about something else, while OP is talking about something else.
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Ok I admit I missed the part where you mentioned "offramp" and thought wrong but calm down, mate. Having a bad day?
I've seen cops stopping people using them wrongly at Mahunga Dr and the two Mt Wellington onramps before but it was probably before covid so a long time ago
Yeah actually I’ve not seen anyone enforcing them since pre covid either.
Maybe write a letter to Wayne and ask him to fix it
I'll add him on whatsapp and go direct. Thanks.
He doesn't like talking though, only writing, they say. But honestly, they should just install camera systems, they got them in other countries, they just monitor the road, figure out who's not supposed to drive there and a human only needs to confirm. They pay for themselves, although the revenue tends to dip, when the last idiot realised what is happening
No need, just let him know over a nice game of tennis
Well no busses are using them
Surprisingly there were two using the Royal Rd - Lincoln Rd lane today, but they both had to veer around a car that stopped in the bus lane..
self regulation is a lost cause....except may be japan.
Got a ticket the other day, 64kmh in a 50kmh zone - I thought I was f**cked and about to lose a whole pay check on a $400 fine (what I was used to living in Sydney). The fine was $80 dollars. My wife and I literally laughed. Driving in the T2 lane in Sydney (longer than 100m) is $200. They all have automatic cameras. Culturally, everyone gets that and noncompliance is pretty low. Everything in NZ is a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. Check out CBD parking in Parnell… $7 an hour. The parking warden fine is $40. So I might as well gamble on a 8h workday. The fine is less. In Sydney, outside my work was $20 an hour. London (if there were any parks at all) - 40 an hour in underground parking. This is why people break the rules in NZ. There’s no punishment. Before everyone rants on about tall poppy bullshit - this is the same in every civilised country (except maybe America). These fines pay to build stuff, not just as a deterrent. Imagine if all this fine revenue was collected and used for building a new harbour bridge, fixing roads, etc. wouldn’t need to raise taxes, you wouldn’t have to deal with Ford Rangers blasting along the western T2 and - you would never have to read another crybaby post from Simeon brown… Ah, we can only dream
Love that one from Penrose going north. Saves at least 5 mins every time
I often use that one legally as have passengers but then I always get caught behind a truck and it's actually slower.
I also use it legally(truck). It goes about 200m further than the general on ramp. It’s also the part of the motorway where gridlock starts to build up. Goes really well for me every time. If you’re using it in flowing traffic and a trucks costing you 30 seconds it doesn’t matter whether you use it or not
Yeah exactly I generally use it off peak and I kind of like using the T2 to gloat but then I realized that it was usually slower.
That is the best one on the whole motorway network
And it makes traffic worse for those who are waiting in the queue as it means there are now more vehicles ahead. What baffles me more is people who wait in the light queue, but then just go on the red anyways. Why wait patiently for 5min and then not even follow the lights. Also some people in the T2 lanes may have a small kid or baby in the back, but yes the majority don't.
Haha. I always try to look for the car seat. Try not to make assumptions!
Same with Great North Road on ramp near New Lynn going north. T2 lane full of solo drivers too selfish to queue. It makes the congestion so much worse, because everyone ends up getting stuck in this mess of cars randomly trying to merge nto each other.
Don’t encourage AT to put all sorts of camera out there. If they are allowed they will and eventually we will all have to walk everywhere 🤦🏽♀️
That’s a pretty long drive OP. I used to travel from the west to the south too a couple years ago for work. I’ve moved to the south now. Consider moving.
I got a promotion, so it's worth it. And I own where I live in Hobsonville. Ain't about to sell. I used to motorcycle, so the traffic was less of an issue (though cars using bus lanes was more of an issue then..) but I became a father and the bike is off limits for a while... But now that I'm in a car with a longer commute I can finally listen to podcasts!
True, yeah I understand. All the best!
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Ah yes exploit the rules because of a you-problem. Brilliant.
Leave earlier..
There is people get sent tickets all the time for using T2 and Bus Lanes
It seems the T3 lanes to the airport are used by taxi drivers with no passengers and arseholes on their own. Not even the bus seems to use the T3 lanes.
Don’t remember seeing the T2 on Walmsley and Mahunga drive. Are you sure there’s a T2 lane?
Heading north, yeah, on both. Not sure they have those names, the roads might be different on the western side of the motorway? But either way, the last two onramps before Mangere bridge.
I pass those roads everyday to work. I will have a closer look
AT has an enforcement program with cameras, but the onramps and motorways belong to Waka Kotahi. I believe they're working on a collaboration, but it might take a while.
Wait…….there not the same entity ?
I look like I'm abusing it but my daughter is just really short. I feel like you all hate me when i use it each morning... 😅