New cost estimates have revealed the Government’s planned Northwestern Busway in Auckland will have a price tag of at least $4.4 billion.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said a staged delivery of the project would be a “game changer” for fast-growing suburbs in northwestern Auckland.
Construction on the project “could begin from 2027”, the Transport Minister said today, but would be “dependent on further funding availability”.
He said: “Currently, people in the northwest don’t have reliable public transport options, and 60% of residents commute out of the area.
“Most people travel to work by car, more than any other area in Auckland, and the Northwestern Motorway regularly suffers from congestion and delays.”
The Transport Minister also announced today that the NZTA board had endorsed an investment case for the project.
The busway had been in various stages of planning for more than a decade.
Bishop said he expected the transport agency to seek statutory planning approvals for the busway through the Government’s fast-track approvals scheme.
There would be three stages to the project, with cost estimates for completing the first two ranging between $4.4 billion to $5 billion, according to the new investment case.
But a third stage, including stations at Western Springs and Pt Chevalier, plus a 6km stretch of route from the CBD to Waterview, wouldn’t be delivered for another 10 years.
The last phase of the project was also not included in the latest cost estimates.
Modelled on the city’s successful Northern Busway, the separated two-way road for buses would run along SH16 through the central isthmus, before continuing past Waterview onto stations at Te Atatū, Lincoln Rd, Royal Rd, Westgate, and Brigham Creek.
Staged delivery for $4 billion-plus busway
The first stage, estimated to cost between $330 million and $380 million, will include new stations at Brigham Creek and Lincoln Road, plus roading improvements for the existing motorway express bus service – route WX1 – along the Northwestern Motorway SH16.
Stage two, with a heftier price tag of $4.1 billion to $4.6 billion, will deliver a separated busway from Brigham Creek to Te Atatū, along with new stations at Royal Road and Te Atatū, the second stage of Westgate station, and a connection into the CBD.
An “interim” set of improvements along the busway corridor opened in 2023, including bus passenger interchanges at Lincoln Rd and Te Atatū. The first stage of a new bus station in Westgate was under construction and set to be completed by mid-2026.
“The staged construction programme … prioritises benefits to west Aucklanders sooner and focuses on more people benefiting from faster and more reliable journeys, as quickly as possible, while building on the hugely popular WX1 service,” Bishop said.
Stage one of the project had a benefit-cost ratio of 6.3, while stage two scored a 2.2.
The “incremental delivery” of the project over several funding cycles would also “enhance affordability”, according to the Transport Minister.
“Funding of around $116 million has also already been approved by the NZTA Board in late 2024 for early consenting work and strategic property acquisitions for Brigham Creek and Lincoln Road stations.”
A decade of announcements and about turns
A busway or light rail line along State Highway 16, known as the Northwestern Motorway, has been in various stages of planning for well over a decade.
Under the previous Labour government, light rail was promised for the corridor.
During the last election campaign, National pledged to build a rapid transit line, which could have been buses or trains, to connect Northwest Auckland to the CBD.
At the time, the party said the project would cost around $2.9 billion.
