Last updated 8:17am, 28 April 2020

Our country’s response to COVID-19 is forcing many of us to change our daily routines, which can be unsettling for many in our community who need to use public transport.

New Zealand is now at Alert Level 3. Those travelling on public transport should avoid peak times unless it is necessary, such as going to work or school. This is to ensure that two metres of physical distancing between staff and customers can be maintained. For details on what is considered an essential service visit the COVID-19 government page.

Important information for travelling on public transport during Alert Level 3

Public transport as an essential service

We are in Alert Level 3. Public transport services will be running for:

those working in essential services
students travelling to and from school/educational facilities
those who do not have alternative transport options
those travelling to access essential services e.g. the supermarket or the pharmacy.

For more details on what is considered an essential service, please visit the New Zealand Government COVID-19 website.

By restricting public transport to essential travel we can keep essential workers, and those travelling to essential services, safe while using public transport.
We need your support to make this work.

What you need to know:

Do not travel if you feel unwell
During this alert level, travelling on buses, trains and ferries is free
You still need to tag on and off with your AT HOP card
Services are running less frequent than normal
To support physical distancing, we are limiting the number of customers allowed onboard
If you’re travelling as an essential worker, you may be asked for I.D. to confirm who you are, who you work for and your job
The digital information boards may not be up-to-date. For the most reliable service information, plan your journey before you leave, using Journey Planner or AT Mobile.

Staying up-to-date

If you need to use public transport for essential travel, here are some useful tools you can use to stay up-to-date

Journey Planner:

For the most reliable service information, use our Journey Planner tool to help plan your trip.

AT Mobile:

Download the AT Mobile app for alerts on disruptions and changes to services
Save your regular journeys and stops to receive personalised alerts. Watch this short video on how to save stops in AT Mobile.

We need your permission to send notifications, so please remember to turn them on when opening AT Mobile for the first time.

Our services are running less frequently

Bus services – Bus services are largely operate according to weekday timetables. We will be actively monitoring our timetables while at Alert Level 3 and will make changes to timetables as needed. Skybus is cancelled until further notice. Services to key medical centres will retain regular or more frequent services.

School bus services will be free but passengers are requested to tag on and tag off with their HOP cards so we can monitor the number of people using buses, this will assist us with planning to add additional services if required. Students without HOP cards can also travel free, but we ask that they purchase a HOP card so we can more accurately monitor how many people are on board each bus. HOP cards can be purchased online. Students will need to enter and exit the bus from the back door to minimise contact with the drivers. There will be information inside the buses to assist with physical distancing.

Updated 27 April 2020 Alert Level 3 – Bus timetables (PDF 417KB)

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Train services – These services are running every 20 minutes, starting from approximately 5am in the morning, until 11pm in the evening. To support essential workers we’ve additional early morning train services.

Eastern Line:

To Britomart – 5:13am, 5:33am, 5:53am, 6:13am, 6:53am
To Manukau – 5:46am, 6:06am.

Southern Line:

To Britomart – 5:14am, 5:34am, 5:54am
To Papakura – 5:40am, 6am.

Western Line:

To Britomart – 5:10am (departs from Henderson) 5:22am, 5:42am (depart from Swanson)
To Swanson – 5:22am, 5:42am, 6:02am.

Onehunga Line:

To Britomart – 5:45am
To Onehunga – 5:48am.

Pukekohe Connection:

To Papakura – 5.13am, 5:43am
To Pukekohe – 5:40am, 6:14am.

Ferry – Services are operating on a reduced schedule. The Birkenhead, Bayswater, Stanley Bay and Gulf Harbour services are cancelled.

Alert Level 4 – Ferry timetables (PDF 456KB)

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Note: Travel on most ferry services, including Waiheke, Devonport and Rakino, is free.
*this excludes the Kennedy point service. Check with the operator before you board.

These services will be maintained until the Government announces a reduction of the current COVID-19 Alert Level or advises otherwise. As the situation develops, we will continue to update this page with changes to service.

Use public transport safely during COVID-19

Some simple guidance will keep you, your fellow passengers, and our staff safe.

For the safety of everyone only use buses, trains and ferries for essential services, if you are feeling well. We all need to play our part in keeping everyone safe.

Only travel if your journey is essential
Travel is currently free, but please remember to tag on and off using your AT HOP card. Tagging on allows us to monitor passenger numbers and quickly make adjustments to services based on changes in demand
Use the rear door to get on and off the bus to minimise physical contact with other passengers and the driver
If you use a wheelchair or other mobility device, or require driver assistance, you can still use the front door
If you’re travelling as an essential worker, you may be asked for I.D. to confirm who you are, who you work for and your job
Train doors will open automatically at every stop. You don’t need to press the button
We have adjusted our maximum occupancy rules onboard to support physical distancing. Please stay at least 2 metres apart from other passengers. You will see information onboard to guide you. This is why some of our services may look empty

If using AT Mobile, in Live Departures you can see how many seats are available before you get onboard. Tagging on and off using your AT HOP card ensures this information is up-to-date.

Total Mobility travel

Total Mobility (TM) will have reduced fares for eligible users requiring essential travel – in most cases this means your trip will be free.

Reducing fares for Total Mobility services is a way to help ensure that you can access essential services and those people working in essential services can get to work.

This change will be in place until 30 June 2020 while New Zealand is at Alert Level 3. It may be reviewed if the alert level is reduced to Level 2 and Level 1.

Using your card

You’ll still need to swipe your TM card at the start and finish of your trip just like you normally do. The difference is that you will not be asked to pay your part of the fare for most trips.
If you’re asked to pay for the fare, please ask for a receipt and let Auckland Transport know (Call Centre 09-366 6400)

Types of trip

Under Alert Level 3 you can only use your TM card for essential travel, this means:

Essential workers going to and from work
Students going to and from school/educational facilities
- Other clients:
- Shopping for food or getting medicine
- Accessing health care

Under Alert level 3 we expect all trips to start or finish at your home address and to be short local trips. If you’re unwell, don’t travel. If you need to travel, ring Healthline first (0800 358 5453).

Stay home if you can

Many TM clients are classed as vulnerable due to COVID-19, we encourage you to stay at home where possible and keep safe and well.

Longer trips

Some essential worker or healthcare trips may be longer. If the total taxi fare goes over $80, you’ll still need to pay a proportion of the fare.

Step to keep our customers and our people safe

We’ve taken proactive steps to make the well-being of our customers and staff our top priority:

During Alert Level 3 our services are still free
We’ve added guidance to our service to support physical distancing
We’ve fitted our stations and their facilities with hand sanitiser dispensers, and have given personal hand sanitisers to all frontline staff
We’ve stepped up cleaning and disinfecting of all our facilities, buses, trains, and ferries.

Auckland Transport – Cleaning our Network

Preparing to use public transport when we move from Alert Level 3

As alert levels change, public transport may look a bit different to what you are used to. We may continue to limit capacity on buses, trains and ferries to support physical distancing, our service timetables may continue to run at a reduced frequency, and we may continue not to accept cash.

There are a few things you can do now to make your return to public transport a little bit smoother.

Order a HOP card online so you have one ready for when public transport is no longer free. We may not be accepting cash for a while, so it will be important to have a HOP card to travel. Your HOP card can take about a week to arrive
Register your card so you can top up online. This will also help with contact tracing if needed. Watch this short video on how to register your HOP card and top up online
Set up Auto top-up to ensure your payments are automatically taken care of. You can do this up via our website or in AT Mobile. Watch this short video on how to set up auto top-up online
Download AT Mobile to keep up-to-date with changes to services and plan your journeys using the latest timetable information.

The best place to find the latest New Zealand COVID-19 information is on the Ministry of Health’s website and the Government’s main COVID-19 website. For COVID-19 health advice and information, or if you think you may have COVID-19, Aucklanders can contact the Healthline team (for free) on 0800 358 5453.