Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

Hello,

I currently live in the Welly region but have always wanted to be up north. I could possibly transfer to Manukau for work but couldn't afford to live in Auckland and was thinking of either Hamilton or Thames.

I know it would be a huge commute, but being near the Coromandel and close to Auckland, BOP would be great as i feel a bit claustrophobic in Welly. We always come here for holidays and hate having to drive all the way back to Welly. Maybe it's post holiday blues as we just spent a week up in Coromandel and BOP.

My partner could work anywhere in Manukau, Hamilton or Tauranga but my role is a bit specialised so have to rely on internal transfer to Manukau to make it work.

I've commuted before in the UK so i dont mind doing 1.5 hours each way in the car if from Thames. Hamilton would be 2 hours i guess. I would trial it first from Hamilton as we have family there where i could stay whilst testing options.

Is this crazy talk?

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

Yip 1.5 / 2.0 hrs commute is insane crazy talk :eek:
You would soon get very tired of that twice a day :blink:

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

I did the commute about 30 years ago, but now the traffic is just silly. My commute was from North Hamilton by the river to ramarama (close to Bombay). The lower traffic meant low stress and be it 70 or 90 mins it was relaxing driving versus 40 mins bumper to bumper.


Each morning I have seen the traffic news indicating 50 mins from Drury, before 7am.


Would recommend Pokeno for OP but not a fan of Auckland myself.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

Top end of hams (rototuna) is about 100km from Manukau
Good gle says 1 hour 20 but I wouldi imagine you could almost double
that with rush hour traffic. Even leaving g early so t help. . .I've tried

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

My current commute is over an hour to Welly from Paraparaumu.

Google maps says 1 hour 15 mins Thames to Manukau. If setting off at 630 I imagine I'd be at work by 830..I hope

I may ask for a trial secondment to test it out before committing

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

In a couple of years the Hamilton to Auckland trip will be easier and quicker. It will all be double lanes each way, bypassing Huntly, and looks like theyre straightening that bit around Te Kauwhata. Should take 10 to 15 mins off the trip. The only less than 100kph traffic will then be between Papakura and Manakau. If your jobs at Manakau City, I would say 1 hr 15 should cover it once the expressway extensions are finished. Maybe 1 hr 30 to 45 in rush hour. Also depends where in Hamilton you are commuting from.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

But I dont think its something I would do myself.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a commuter line in a few years time. I think it's a good time to invest in a property down there.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

I wouldn't do it, but give it a try and if you find it too much you can move to Pokeno, Pukekohe or Bombay which is manageable and doesn't feel too crowded.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

I don't see why its so difficult to upgrade the Huntley to Pukekohe stretch of rail?

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

Check out the video on a potential commuter line to Huntly. 3-bed house on a good sized section under $200,000.

Putting a railway through the Waikato | TVShows | Newshub

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

It isn't difficult, just cost prohibitive......around $1 000 000 per KM basic cost just for railroad track. When you factor in tunnels, bridges and road crossing plus signals and stations plus the electrification costs of the route then a few extra trains, staff to operate them it just isn't commercially viable. There just would't be sufficient members of the public using the service to keep it running. There used to be many passenger services in NZ but majority of them shut down by the 60's/70's as they just couldn't afford to keep operating due to the advances in roading and vehicles.

Re: Anyone commute from Waikato to Auckland?
 

I think Hamilton may be the best bet
I keep checking on Google maps as they link to live traffic and it said 1h 44 mins if you left at 6.30am - surprisingly down to 1h 33 mins if you left at 8am but that would mean a late finish

Will now see if i can at least get a secondment to Manukau to trial it out

Getting home at 6.30 is what i do now so doing the same but further North suits me fine - so many more options for things to see and do in Waikato, BOP and Auckland