Level two in full swing means a return to work for many, and for some a long commute into the city. Driving every day can be a drag, and public transport options can add a lot of time to your journey. However, there is an easy-to-access local service that will get you to and from work in the same time it takes to drive yourself, or less because it uses the bus lane, while you sit back and relax on a luxury service with other locals: the Mahu City Express.

The Mahu City Express is back up and running at level two for commuters who have started back in the CBD again. Unlike public transport, the Mahu Express is a very controlled environment, where passengers can safely social distance, the vehicle is sanitised after every commute, and there are no random people hopping on and off the bus.

“We are very excited to be up and running again! We have a great little community of commuters, who we get to know really well. It is nice for everyone to be able to catch up and connect again”, says Julian Ostling.

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant reduced numbers of passengers to comply with social distancing rules.

“We are lucky that due to the luxury nature of our service there is already a lot of leg room between our large leather seats. We have reduced capacity to 17 passengers on a 37- seater, so everyone has lots of room around them. Passengers also have to book through the app for contact tracing purposes.

“We are asking that all our passengers use all the safety processes we have in place to keep everyone safe. We have posh hand sanitisers from a local company, Co Skin, in each of the seat pockets, and face masks are available on request, if you have been unable to source your own and would feel more comfortable with one. But be assured that as always, we will keep you safe and sound, and that the buses are the cleanest buses that are out there with Crest Clean deep sanitising our buses every day”.

Julian Ostling started Mahu City Express after shifting to the area from England and finding no transport for his commute into the city. He started a car-pool, and he went through the long process of gaining certification to use the bus lane and provide a private commuter service from Warkworth to Auckland. He has now grown the service from using a small 16-seater coach, to two 37-seater coaches carrying up to 74 passengers a day back and forth from Auckland.

Although they have been able to resume the daily commute to and from the city, they are currently unable to do any private charter work, as it is difficult to social distance in that scenario, but they are looking forward to helping locals break their bubbles and have a great day out with friends and family, either visiting local wineries, and restaurants or perhaps really breaking out and going on a bit of a road trip for the day.

It pays to book in advance at the moment so they can manage demand and put on more services if required. You can book through their app, or at www.mahucityexpress.co.nz.If you require a single ticket, please contact them on 425 5566. If you’d like to find out more about private charters, feel free to give them a call or email [email protected]