I am lucky enough to be able to access campus by foot. We have a relatively steep hill between Carlaw Student Village and the main building but it’s only about 5-10 minutes to most campus buildings. The local chain grocery store, Countdown, is just a 10-minute walk from my building or there’s another that’s 15 minutes from campus.
I mainly use public transportation to get to any excursions I may take during the week. My second week here I used my Wednesday without classes to travel to Mission Bay, a beach which is 15-minutes via bus from campus. The bus stop is about a 10-minute walk from my residence. They are really convenient in that they have electronic readings showing how much time until the next bus. The busses use an ATHop card that you scan when you get on and off. The charges are based on how many stops you take. Overall, the system is very similar to Boston and easy to use.
We also rent cars for weekend-long trips. The cost of renting is low when splitting between a lot of people but the gas is more expensive compared to the U.S., although their cars seem to be more fuel-efficient than back home. Using a car has a lot of benefits compared to public transportation since we can set our own schedule and most busses don’t travel as far as we need them to. Last weekend eight of us visited Hamilton and Kawhia using a rental car. We had the freedom to drive to our campsite, the beach early to dig our own thermal pools, and to a rugby game an hour north.
They also have Uber here just like in Boston that can take you on shorter trips around the city. Some of my friends live 15 minutes away so a car or Uber is essential.
I have also used the ferry twice since being here. There are small islands and dormant volcano sites that the ferries will take visitors out to. Rangitoto is visible anywhere on the coast of Auckland, which I plan to visit soon. The ferries can be anywhere from a 15-minute to an hour long ride. They are managed by the city just like the busses or any other public transportation.
Public transportation overall is very similar here to Boston. It’s low cost but has limited convenience when traveling to specific locations. Its downsides don’t get in the way of traveling around the city or outside of Auckland.
