Grafton Bridge taxi trial to end
Auckland Transport began a trial in September 2015 allowing taxis 24-hour access to Grafton Bridge to improve links between the city centre and Auckland City Hospital, Starship Children’s Hospital and Newmarket.
Several potential risks were identified with the trial including a reduction in cyclist safety and an increase in bus travel times. As a result, strict rules were set for taxi drivers along with some monitoring metrics.
Despite a focus on educating approved taxi organisations and their drivers, the monitoring highlighted a widespread failure to adhere to the 30km/h speed limit on the bridge and the requirement for taxis not to overtake cyclists on the bridge.
These issues were identified as significant concerns at the outset of the trial and a commitment was made to stop the trial if taxi drivers failed to adhere to these conditions.
Auckland Transport has decided to stop the trial and return Grafton Bridge to a bus lane only between the hours of 7am and 7pm. This change is due to be made at the end of April 2016.