Public Transport the Auckland Edition

Britomart Station - Feb 2015

Last week our car died just as we got off the motorway and we had to get it towed home. This left us a bit stuck with getting to work for the rest of the week so we had no other choice but to go by bus (and then by train for me) to get into work.

On the first morning that we caught the bus I felt completely out of my depth (Mark did not as he is well-versed in catching buses and trains in Auckland) and I felt uncomfortable on the bus. I did not have a Hop Card and had to pay cash. Then I felt as though I was going to clobber people with the 3 x bags I was carrying to get all my things to work. Then catching the second bus from Britomart to Newmarket I nearly embarrassed myself by falling on my face on the bus and then nearly getting jammed in the closing doors.

By lunch time I had purchased my very own Hop Card and topped it up with some money. I felt confident and happy about catching a train to Britomart to get on a bus home. Honestly, having the Hop Card for travel has changed my life! I got excited by my discount of .40c on the train.

My experience of public transport has grown from one of fear/trepidation to one of excitement and calm. I love Britomart Station I find that everyone is so busy and focused on where they are going and somehow there is a fast ebb and flow of people as they criss-cross each others paths on the way to the next (or) end stage of their journey. I love it. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I go down the escalator to enter Britomart in the morning.

I have since suggested that perhaps Mark and I catch the bus and train once a week to get to work as it is quite relaxing and gives us a break of the monotony of having to drive in peak hour traffic.

The only issue that I have is that in Auckland it is not particularly cost-effective which seems strange given that we want our city to move towards it. However, I figure that for one day a week we can have one less car on the road. 

Oh and in case you are wondering whether you can survive a Zombie Attack on public transport, my fabulous cousin sent me this link on how to do it. 

Do you catch Public Transport (or have another way to get to work)? Do you love it/hate it?