With car travel costs soaring and cycling on the rise, bike-plus-bus transport could provide transport choice for so many Aucklanders. Yet, outside of a trial on the NX1, it’s not possible here – yet. We’ve reached out to Auckland Transport for a status update on their plans for bikes and buses.
Multi-mode trips with your bike in Auckland today
Today in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, we can take bikes on trains and ferries (yay!) but not buses (boo).
Combining cycling and public transport makes huge swathes of the Auckland region easily reachable, so it’s really important. Transport planners describe this as “first-and last-mile solutions.” In other words, public transport can take you between main hubs and along main roads, but then there needs to be an easy way to get to your front door.
Good first-and last-mile options can turn a public transport journey that’s neither appealing nor practical into a great way to travel. And the option to use public transport for part of a long bike commute – or even just on rainy days – can make bike commuting manageable and sustainable.
What’s happening with bikes and buses in Auckland?
Bike racks inside NX1 buses
Bike Auckland supports the current trial of bike racks inside NX1 buses. Below are some of the past updates we’ve shared about this trial and our involvement in it.
The service during this trial is only on specific buses, however, which means wait times can be unpredictable. For some, the service just isn’t reliable enough. While many use and love the racks, uptake overall hasn’t been especially high. (For those keen to give it a go, we share some timetabling tips to make sure your wait time isn’t too long.)
Next steps: bike racks on the front of buses
Other parts of Aotearoa make use of bike racks on the front of buses. We’d love this to be an option here in Auckland. That said, Auckland’s streets can be a bit different from those in other places and what works in other places isn’t always perfect for Auckland.
Auckland Transport are taking a serious look at front racks for at least some of our Auckland buses. They’ve started this month with testing the racks. They’ll be asking questions like, how easy is it to lift a heavier bike, such as an ebike onto the racks? Would a cargo bike fit? How safe are bike owners when they are putting their bike on the front of the bus? How long does it take to load and unload a bike?
Once rack models have been tested, we hope to see an on-road trial start within 2026.
As with the racks inside buses, it’s likely we’ll put out a call for Bike Auckland supporters who would like to be early testers of the bike buses.
Watch this space for updates.
