Be prepared when travelling to Christmas parades this Weekend

Communications Team from Auckland Council

Santa’s getting ready to visit his loyal followers in suburbs across Auckland. If you’re heading to a Santa parade, please remember to be sun smart with hats and sunblock, and bring a drink bottle – especially for little ones.

Make sure you know when parades are happening – even if you're not planning on attending – and you're aware of the traffic, transport and parking disruptions that may occur.

Auckland Transport has information on stop closures and alternative routes for buses during parades including Westgate, Mairangi Bay, Onehunga, Ōrewa, and Kumeū. In the city centre, Large parts of Queen Street, Albert Street, Victoria Street, Commerce Street, Customs Street, Beach Road, Mayoral Drive and other areas of the city centre will be closed.

Several bus routes and Fullers ferries will have extra services running on the day. See which ones apply to you, or use the Journey Planner to find times for regular scheduled services.
Most bus services will be diverted from the start of service until the roads reopen about 5pm.

Don’t forget – kids ride for 99c on weekends with AT Hop.

An important message about trains: Please be advised that balloons cannot be carried on trains or in the stations due to the risk of them flying away and hitting the overhead power lines.

Farmers Santa Parade

If you're heading to the the Farmers Santa Parade, Santa says driving into town isn't a great idea, as it will be very busy and hard to get around because of road closures. He's suggesting you take a bus, train or ferry instead!

Public transport will be busier than usual but Auckland Transport is putting on some extra services to make sure everyone is in town for the 1pm parade. Plan your journey in advance and travel early.

If you are planning drive in to the city centre, please be aware that road closures and parking restrictions will be in place.

Public parking is free at the Downtown, Victoria Street and Civic car parks for vehicles parked by 11am and exited by 6pm.Visit At.govt.nz to see how these could affect you.