Public Transport

Auckland's public transport network has improved dramatically over the past decade and is about to take its biggest leap forward yet with the opening of the City Rail Link. Whether you're commuting, heading out for the weekend, or exploring the city for the first time, there's a good chance public transport can get you there — often more easily than driving. Download the full AT network map (PDF) to see all bus, train and ferry routes across Auckland.

How to pay

There are three ways to pay for public transport in Auckland. The cheapest and most convenient is the AT HOP card. Contactless payment is also available on most services. Cash can be used for pre-paid tickets on trains and some ferries, but is much more expensive and not accepted on buses at all.

AT HOP card

The AT HOP card is Auckland's dedicated public transport smart card — the best way to pay for most regular travellers. You tag on when you board and tag off when you exit, and the correct fare is automatically calculated based on zones. AT HOP gives you a significant discount over cash, and is required for all concession fares (tertiary, SuperGold, Community Connect etc.).

Cards cost $10 (including $5 stored value) and are available at most supermarkets, convenience stores, and AT service centres. You can top up online, on the AT Mobile app, at station ticket machines, or at more than 180 retail top-up locations. Buy or manage your AT HOP card at at.govt.nz → A $50 weekly fare cap applies — once you hit the cap, all further travel that week is free.

Contactless payment

Since November 2024, you can pay using a contactless bank card, credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay on most Auckland buses, trains and ferries. Simply tap on and off as you would with an AT HOP card. Contactless fares are the same price as AT HOP, though you cannot get concession discounts with contactless cards — concessions always require a registered AT HOP card. The $50 weekly fare cap applies to contactless payments too.

Note: contactless payments are not accepted on Fullers360 Waiheke commercial ferry services or the Belaire Rakino Island ferry. Concession discounts (see below) are only available with a registered AT HOP card.

Cash

Cash is not accepted on buses. On trains and most ferries, you can buy a paper ticket from a ticket machine using cash, but fares are significantly higher than AT HOP or contactless. For regular travel, getting an AT HOP card is strongly recommended.

Discounts and concessions

Several groups are eligible for discounted fares. All concessions require a registered AT HOP card — you cannot access concession fares with cash or contactless payment. Full concession details at at.govt.nz →

Fare zones

Auckland uses a zone-based fare system. The city is divided into 9 fare zones, and the fare you pay depends on how many zones your journey passes through. The good news: no matter how far you travel on buses or trains, you will never pay for more than 4 zones — longer journeys are capped at the 4-zone price. There are also small overlap areas where certain stops sit in two adjacent zones, meaning you may not always cross a zone boundary at the exact same point.

Ferry fares are set separately and are generally higher than bus and train fares for equivalent distances — particularly for outer harbour and island routes.

Buses

Auckland has an extensive bus network covering most urban areas and many outlying towns including Pukekohe, Warkworth, Helensville and Waiuku. There are 42 Frequent bus routes across Auckland, each running at least every 15 minutes from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week — meaning you can generally just turn up without needing to check a timetable. About 750,000 Aucklanders live within a 10-minute walk of a Frequent stop.

Frequent routes use two-digit route numbers and appear as thicker lines on AT maps. Connector routes (three-digit numbers) provide local coverage and connect residential areas to the Frequent network and train stations. All buses accept AT HOP and contactless payment — cash is not accepted.

Northern Busway

The Northern Busway is Auckland's dedicated rapid bus corridor, running from Constellation and Albany stations on the North Shore into the city centre. Bus lanes keep services fast and reliable, with buses running up to every 3–4 minutes at peak times. The Northern Busway is one of the best-performing public transport corridors in New Zealand.

Trains

Auckland's electric rail network currently runs four lines from Waitematā (Britomart) to the Western, Southern, Eastern suburbs and Onehunga. All services use modern electric trains. Trains run from around 5am to 11pm on weekdays, with later services on Fridays and Saturdays.

Current lines

City Rail Link — opening 2026

The City Rail Link (CRL) is Auckland's largest ever infrastructure project — a 3.5km underground rail tunnel beneath the city centre, connecting Waitematā Station to Maungawhau Station (formerly Mt Eden) via two new underground stations: Te Waihorotiu (near Aotea Square) and Karanga-a-Hape (near Karangahape Road). The CRL is scheduled to open for passengers in the second half of 2026.

When the CRL opens, train line names and routes will change significantly, with all lines (except the Onehunga-West) running through the CRL tunnels:

At peak times, trains through the CRL tunnels will run up to every 4 minutes — up from every 10 minutes today. The CRL adds a new east-west cross-city connection making journeys such as West Auckland to Sylvia Park direct for the first time.

Ferries

Auckland's ferry network is one of the city's great assets — services run from the Downtown Ferry Terminal (beside Waitematā Station) to destinations across the Waitemata Harbour, upper Manukau Harbour and Hauraki Gulf. Ferries accept AT HOP and contactless payment on most routes.

AT-contracted ferry services

Other ferry operators

Several private operators also run ferry services in the Auckland region, not contracted by AT:

Useful resources