Te reo Māori and English bus announcements busaudiopreview
Auckland Transport launches new te reo Māori and English audio announcements across its bus network to improve customer service.
Bus audio announcements
We want to improve our service to customers by providing more informative communication, which reflects the diversity of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Buses on the Link service routes have audio announcements in English, telling passengers what the next stop will be. Our team is working in partnership with Blind Citizens NZ, AT's Māori Responsiveness Team, and Auckland Council to launch new bus audio announcements that are in te reo Māori and English and are more informative and beneficial to everyone.
Types of audio announcements:
- Names for each bus stop on the route. Buses will play the name of the next stop as they travel along the route. Names will match those on AT Mobile and AT Journey Planner.
- Transfers to bus, train of ferry services. At key locations, after the next stop announcement, transfer messages will play indicating that the next stop can be used to transfer to other bus, train or ferry services.
- Sense of place messaging. Meaningful stories about historic locations will play near important historic sites around Auckland.
- Service disruption messages. These live messages will tell customers about disruptions to their bus stop.
Improvements to announcements:
- A better sense of where you are on your bus journey with improved bus stop names, which make it easier to relate each stop to well-known landmarks nearby.
- Informative audio prompts help you know where you are on your journey. This will be useful to anyone with sight impairment, low-vision situations such as travelling at night, or travelling through unfamiliar surroundings.
- Know where and when you need to transfer and how to do it. The new bus audio announcements will play at key locations to give you this information and help make your trip easier.
- Live service disruptions, such as your bus stop is closed, giving you time to change your plans.
- Learn interesting snippets of Auckland’s history when you pass by historic locations.
Te reo Māori audio:
- Supports the 2021/2022 AT Business Plan’s contribution towards Auckland Council’s Māori wellbeing outcomes, expectations and aspirations under the Treaty of Waitangi.
- Provides relevant and welcoming public facilities and services for first language speakers of te reo Māori – an official language of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
- Adds to our existing bilingual network – providing additional opportunities for te reo Māori to be seen and heard across Tāmaki Makaruau.
Te reo Māori translations are overseen by AT’s Māori Policy and Engagement team.
Start date
Buses in different parts of the city are already equipped with the new audio devices. The announcements will be gradually rolled out across the Auckland Transport network over 2022 to 2023, depending on the arrival of equipment from overseas.