Auckland Dockline Tram

A great idea to bring trams back to Auckland. The idea was that with the vast number of offices planned to go down into the Wynyard area, they’d need some flagship public transport to ensure the area wouldn’t be ruined by a shittonne of cars. So they got a tramline built around in a 1.5km loop with the intention of extending it to Britomart in the near future. But typical Auckland short-​sightedness ensued — the bridge across to Britomart was built without a tram track to cut costs. As a result the Dockline Tram isn’t public transport at all — it’s a novelty. A fun novelty for sure, but unlikely to hold up financially in the long run — so get in there while it’s still there — it’s a great activity for the family.

When family from down the line came to stay in Auckland for a long weekend, naturally we wanted to show off our best side. Wynyard Quarter throws up something new to do just when you’d thought you had it covered — I’m gutted I didn’t get to see any of the Advent Calendar, boohoo.
So we had lunch at the Viaduct, wandered down here, crossed the bridge and headed for the playground. When the kids had finished frolicking in the lagoon, we decided to jump on the Tram so went to wait at the stop, checked the time and it arrived almost instantly. Yay! From the moment we got on and received our brochures, we were all enthralled. The commentary from both the drivers (there was a swapover at the depot) was both hilarious and informative, and I learned so many things about my city that I didn’t know before.
You pay your measly fare and then can go around as many times as you like or jump on and off as you please all day. I probably never would have done this if it wasn’t for the visitors so next time you have tourists to stay, go and be one yourself!