What's Happening on Wellesley Street?

Wellesley Street upgrades are taking shape with new bus shelters, wider footpaths and improved pedestrian crossings. Once CRL is open, there will be 17,500 bus passengers travelling along Wellesley Street each day and more pedestrians going in and out of the new Te Waihorotiu CRL Train Station. Further changes are needed to enable Wellesley Street to become a new gateway to the city as well as a thriving pedestrian and entertainment destination.

From March 2026;

• We’re introducing bus lanes on both sides of Wellesley Street between Elliott Street and Queen Street. These lanes will prioritise buses from 7am to 7pm daily to enable faster, more reliable journeys.
• From 7pm to 7am daily, these bus lanes are open for general traffic to reach Queen Street when bus travel is less frequent.
• We’re removing the temporary bus stop outside St Matthew-in-the-City as this was only needed during construction.

During 7am and 7pm only buses, bikes, motorbikes and mopeds can use the bus lanes.

Take a closer look at the drawings here

What is Happening on Queen Street?

Authorised Vehicles Only (AVO) Zone

The length of Queen Street between Wellesley Street (Civic Theatre) and Wakefield Street (Town Hall) is currently operating as a 24/7 Bus Lane and Authorised Vehicles Only (AVO) lane. Authorised Vehicles include buses, goods vehicles, cycles, mopeds, motorcycles and emergency services. This means private vehicles, taxis, and car share services are not permitted in this part of Queen Street. The AVO successfully reduced through-traffic on Queen Street, which led to improved bus reliability while supporting efficient delivery of goods.

Albert Street and Mayoral Drive reopened on 29 November 2025 after eight years, allowing nearly 900 buses to return to these routes each day. This has shifted 447 buses in each direction off Queen Street, where they had been rerouted during construction. With fewer buses operating on Queen Street, we now have the opportunity to review the operation of the AVO.

AVO Hours will change from 24/7 to 7am–7pm

To support better access, the operating hours of the AVO will change from 24/7 to 7am–7pm, 7 days a week. After 7pm, all traffic will be able to use Queen Street between Wakefield Street and Wellesley Street. This supports night-time activities and creates a safer, more accessible city in the evenings. The AVO hours of 7am – 7pm match the Wellesley Street bus lane hours – allowing traffic to move between Queen Street and Wellesley Street.

Making it easier to get around

Our goal is to make city navigation simpler. We’re improving signage and changing traffic lights to make it easier for everyone to understand who can use the AVO lane and when.

Making it easier for people with mobility access needs

Total Mobility is a New Zealand wide scheme that supports people with mobility access needs to travel by offering subsidised fares on participating taxis. As part of the changes, Total Mobility Registered Vehicles will now be permitted to use the AVO during its revised operating hours (7am–7pm, 7 days a week) to access mobility parking on Queen Street — a positive step towards improving accessibility. Information about the new AVO access will be shared with registered operators. To support accessibility in the city centre, a new mobility parking space is being created on Queen Street, just north of Wellesley Street (outside 290 Queen Street).

Take a closer look at the drawings here

Loading Zone Changes

The timing of the existing Loading Zone (LZ) spaces on both sides of Queen Street—just north of Wellesley Street, outside Acecco Supermarket and the Smith & Caughey building—will be adjusted. These changes in time will align with the majority of LZ times in the city centre, at 5 minutes (Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm), to increase turnover and improve availability for service vehicles during busy periods. After 6pm on weekdays and throughout weekends, loading and pick-up/drop-off activities become a higher priority. To accommodate this, the vehicle loading time will be extended to 15 minutes.

Take a look at the drawings here

These changes are being delivered as a trial

We’re taking a pragmatic and balanced approach to reducing obstacles for visitors and businesses and residents, supporting key destinations and night time activities, while actively monitoring changes and adapting where we need to. These changes are being delivered as a trial under the Land Transport Rule: Streets Layout 2023. As these changes are implemented, we’ll monitor the network to see how it is working.

The trial of these changes will last for up to two years, allowing us to learn how all forms of transport work together and where adjustments may be needed. The two-year timeframe allows for meaningful input from everyone and enables us to make any necessary changes before setting permanent hours and signage.

We’ll be collecting traffic data and capturing feedback from businesses and road users. The trial area is shown on the map as a black dotted line. We can make changes in the first few months if we need to. If the data shows that the increase in traffic is delaying buses or reducing pedestrian amenity on Queen Street we can make timely adjustments to enable reliable buses and a positive experience.

The engagement will be delivered under the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Reshaping Streets regulatory framework, the trial allows for feedback, monitoring, and adjustment before any permanent changes are confirmed.

Keeping Elliott Street open for business

While Wellesley Street and CRL construction continues, Elliott Street loading and servicing will retain the extended hours of 6am–6pm. We expect these hours to remain in place until the end of March 2026, when construction is scheduled to finish. After that, loading and servicing hours will return to 6am–11am (original pre-construction hours)

These original hours support the function of Elliott Street as a shared space by prioritising walking, cycling, and outdoor dining. We’re expecting a lot more pedestrians to use Elliott Street following the opening of CRL. These loading and servicing hours are the same for other shared spaces in Auckland.

Access to local businesses, the two public carparks and motorcycle parking on Elliott Street via Wellesley Street will continue once stage one of the Wellesley Street Bus Improvements construction is completed.