Buses replace popular AT Local

Demand for public transport across Papakura and Takanini continues to increase following the end of the AT Local service.

AT Local launched in Papakura and Takanini in October 2021 with a 12-month trial, followed by the full service, which ended in April 2026.

A spokesperson for Auckland Transport says AT Local was well used and enjoyed by many.

“However, since it started running, the local population has grown significantly, and more people were trying to use AT Local than the service could take. Since mid-2022, only 20-40 per cent of attempts to book AT Local resulted in the customer actually using the service.

“We made several changes to better meet demand, such as using larger vans, reducing last-minute cancellations and offering alternative travel times, but extra capacity was quickly taken up by new customers every time.

“We looked into adding more vehicles, but this is not a practical long-term solution. We also heard that using AT Local was difficult for people with wheelchairs, limited mobility, shopping, luggage or prams.”

AT says on-demand services are useful in areas where the population isn’t yet large enough to justify a conventional public transport service, such as a bus service. However, their fare recovery rates are low and the capacity of on-demand vehicles cannot support larger volumes of trips.

The AT Local service has been replaced by the new 364 bus route. Comparing weekly figures, the new bus service averages around 1500 boardings per week, compared to around 1000 on AT Local.

AT says that compared to AT Local, a bus service has more room for more people and will follow the same route and timetable each time.

Plans for AT Local in Pukekohe have been put on hold, with the recently improved Pukekohe routes 391, 392 and 393 continuing to operate as normal.

• The new 379 Clarks Beach service to Papakura (launched on April 19) has an average of 457 boardings per week. In the first nine weeks of service (to June 20), there was a total of 4114 boardings.

AT Local passenger counts 2022-2025

• • 2021: 1209 (November/December only)
  • 2022: 33,035
  • 2023: 56,295
  • 2024: 58,372
  • 2025: 51,775
  • 2026: 13,050 (January-May only)