In previous years, I didn't have a problem using it and I actually found it efficient because it came every 10 minutes. Having the Northern Busway helped too as we avoid peak-hour traffic. However, every Friday after 3pm since Uni started, I find myself lining up for more than 15 minutes just to get on the bus. The queue is so long it almost reaches the Westfield Downtown Mall entrance. I took a photo from last Friday when I was lining up:
For the past year and a half that I have been taking the Northern Express, I have not seen a queue as long as what I have experienced for the past three weeks. On March 11th, I was on a much longer queue so on Friday, I rushed after class and pretty much speed-walked from Uni to Britomart. It was annoying because waiting in line for twenty minutes is not something I want to do on a late Friday afternoon. I want to get home as quickly and efficiently as I can. It also doesn't help that the bus stop is by the corner so the queue blocks people walking and crossing to Queen Street. We are not only in this long line but we get stuck with a cluster of people who are waiting to cross as well. I can just say that it is not the best experience. For people who have no idea of this situation, I found a video of the queue for the Northern Express in Youtube:
There is no question that the public transport system for the North Shore is overloaded. The Northern Express is the main transport for most people who live there. The Northern Busway was a good initiative for people to use public transport but situations like these, would definitely put people off too. I am hoping it gets better every week. Maybe a good solution is to have more buses in peak hours to prevent long queues (instead of having buses every 10 minutes make it every 5 instead, though it is questionable that they will arrive on time) and have a faster boarding system.
In relation to this topic, There was a post on the NZ Herald about someone's experience on using the Northern Express. He stated:
I find myself arriving ever earlier to the Constellation park and ride (just to fight it out over the last parking spot), only to then be greeted by a line of equally frustrated 'passengers' standing in a queue longer than those experienced outside Studio 54 at the height of its infamy. Once on the bus, if in fact you get on the first or second one that comes along, you are squeezed, face to armpit, on to the most uncomfortable journey imaginable. But at least I get on ... spare a thought for those poor souls at Sunnynook, Smales or Takapuna, who watch overcrowded bus after overcrowded bus trundle by groaning under the weight of all those commuters. In a World Cup year, you have to ask yourself ... how will Auckland cope? Right now, it's not."He has a valid point. What will happen to Auckland's transportation system during the Rugby World Cup? Will it get worse than what is is now? How can this issue be solved? Will the transportation system get better for us who live in the North Shore? Or will we keep on wasting our time in long queues just to get home?
