More reliable bus connections
Public transport use is growing, especially on busy routes. To keep services moving efficiently, Metlink and Wellington City Council need to modify bus stops along the eastern bus corridor from the central city to Miramar, so they function as high‑capacity stops. This allows more than one bus to pull in fully at stops and provides better accessibility so people can hop on and hop off quickly and safely whilst at the same time keeping the roadway clear.
The eastern bus corridor, and the stops along it, are part of popular and well frequented services like Metlink's Route 2 bus, as well as other buses such as the peak hour express services. Almost every bus service using all or part of this route will benefit from these improvements.
Fixing current issues and planning for passenger growth
Current passenger demand for travelling by bus on the Eastern Corridor creates difficulties at bus stops as there are more buses than the current infrastructure can handle. The bus stops are not long enough for more than one bus. This means buses are queueing or stopping in the middle of the road and sometimes leaving passengers behind.
These issues cause safety concerns for passengers and general traffic, reduce the efficiency of service, and result in a reduced level of service for passengers.
Passenger growth on Route 2 (the largest bus service on the eastern corridor with 3.4 million annual passenger trips on the full route from Karori to Miramar/Seatoun in the 2024/2025 financial year) is continuing to increase and to meet demand Metlink needs to operate more buses and/or longer buses. Some intersections need changes to enable the use of longer articulated buses (the preferred solution for providing more bus and passenger capacity).
Project at a glance
The Eastern Bus Corridor project proposed improvements are part a corridor that runs from the central city to Miramar. The eastern bus corridor is Metlink’s busiest and most frequent route, carrying a high number of passengers every day. Route 2 is the main service that uses this corridor and links Karori in the west to Miramar in the east via the central city. Other bus routes using this corridor include the 4, 14, 18, 24, 30x, 31x, 35, 36, 38x, AX, and school services.
Changes are proposed in Mt Victoria, Hataitai, Kilbirnie, and Miramar. To accommodate more frequent or longer buses, changes will include:
- making some stops longer
- removing or consolidating some stops to improve bus stop spacing and reduce journey times
- bus shelter changes
- kerb and line marking changes at some intersections so they can be safely used by longer buses.
The changes will make some bus stops more accessible. Buses will be able to lower to kerb height if needed, and drivers will be able to extend the ramp for wheelchair users.
Wellington City Council, as the city’s road controlling authority, and Metlink (Greater Wellington), as the public transport authority, are working together to improve bus infrastructure along the eastern corridor from the central city to Miramar.
As part of our early engagement, we worked closely with groups in the community and stakeholders to hear their views and refine the proposed designs.
These groups included:
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Residents’ associations
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Business groups (BIDs)
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Local businesses along the route
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Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre
View plans, maps and traffic resolution
Get the all the detail in our supporting documents, including design drawings, maps and the traffic resolution.