It is a slow crawl for every commuter from the North Shore to Auckland's CBD along Onewa Rd each morning, but the latest Auckland Transport figures show that those in the transit lane are motoring along more than four times faster than those people not in a bus or carpooling.

In defence of the current operation of a T3 lane, rather than a T2 lane, Auckland Transport (AT) broke down the numbers using Onewa Rd during March and April.

AT's figures, on Onewa Rd, show approximately 90 buses and 440 vehicles travelled on the T3 lane during the peak three-hour period. In comparison, there were 2200 vehicles on the general lane.

While the T3 lane carried only 19 per cent of vehicles, AT's head count showed the T3 lane carried 66 per cent of people.

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Those on the T3 lane also went more than four times as fast, with average speeds of 14kmh during operation, while those on general lane were at a near standstill with averaged speeds of 3kmh.

Supplied An Auckland Transport camera set up to monitor the Onewa Rd T3 lane.

AT worked out that the T3 lane arrangement was 20 per cent more efficient than a T2 lane and therefore planned to retain it.

On April 30, the T3 lane operation times were extended by one hour in the morning and evening to 6.30am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm.

Birkenhead resident and commuter Jennifer Edwards was an advocate for a clearway along Onewa Rd's T3 lane rather than extending the operating hours.

LAINE MOFER/STUFF Onewa Rd T3 lane traffic travels more than four times faster than general lane traffic during the morning peak.

"Between 9am and 10am there was formerly no congestion. Now cars are regularly backed up to the top of Onewa Rd," Edwards said.

"The left lane is largely empty – judging by my experience and the comments on Facebook, there are usually one or two buses going down in the 30-40 minutes most people now spend sitting in traffic after 9am, and more to the point, about three people waiting for buses."

Commuter comment on Neighbourly.co.nz generally opposed the changed times of operation.

"[Traffic is] so much worse, it's nonsense! And public transport is so unreliable and overpriced, it's a no go for me … there was no need to do this. If anything, stop the cars from parking on Onewa Rd," Pavlina Steinerova from Bayview wrote.

"Changing the T3 times has made it worse, if they actually listened to the people who use the road every day double yellow lines, instead of a T3 lane would've been a way better idea," wrote Craig Fraser from Birkdale.

"As a motorcyclist, I've found that the new times make my commute easier, as I can wait for the high school traffic to subside before leaving for work," Hu Wang from Glenfield wrote.

Those in the T3 lane in the opposite direction in the evening were pleased with the longer hours.

"I use the bus and have noticed a huge difference in time saved. Especially coming home in the evenings," Lois Hammond from Birkdale wrote.