Transport - Other Means of Travel - Wellington

Taxi

View of Wellington harbour from Mount Victoria

Taxi drivers in New Zealand cannot operate alone; they must belong to a taxi company. Taxi companies operate 24 hours a day and set their own fares. These fares must be displayed inside and outside the taxi cab.

Taxi drivers charge their customers with a ‘flagfall’ (which is an initial charge for getting into the taxi) then, during transit, the customer is charged for each kilometre and for the amount of time the journey takes. Some taxi companies may charge an extra ‘service charge’ when customers pay by credit cards.

Ferry

Wellington harbour is a busy place. There is a constant flow of movement as freight forwarders, fishing vessels, tugboats, ferries and sailing yachts move about.

The Bluebridge and Interislander provide daily ferry services between Wellington and Picton in the South Island.

There are two local ferry services, operated by East by West Ferries, that connect Wellington with Eastbourne and Petone on the other sides of the harbour.

The city’s harbour shipping affairs are handled by CentrePort Wellington. The port company is responsible for marine services, the berthing of commercial freight forwarding, and all other shipping in and out of Wellington harbour.

Plane

Wellington Airport is located in Rongotai, a 10-minute drive to the Wellington central business district. It is Wellington’s gateway to domestic and international destinations. There are six airlines flying domestically and six airlines flying to international destinations.

Bicycle

A number of Wellingtonians cycle to work, and Wellington is also the national centre of mountain biking due to the many trails in the region.

There are a number of cycling clubs and groups offering a range of cycling activities - from competitive multisports events, mountain bike duathlons, triathlons, road races and time trials to social, non-competitive cycling for families.

By law, cyclists must:

obey the road rules
wear a helmet at all times
have a rear and front light when it is dark.

Cycles cannot be carried on Metlink buses but they can be carried on the Petone and Eastbourne ferries for free. It is also free to take a bicycle on the train subject to available room.

The Interislander and Bluebridge ferries charge an extra fee to passengers who take a bicycle over Cook Strait.

Most airlines require special packaging of bicycles before they accept them onto a plane. This usually includes removing or turning in the handlebars, removing the pedals, covering the chain so grease will not spread, and packaging the bicycle in plastic with sufficient padding. It is always best to check the requirements of each airline.

Taxi

Ferry

Plane

Bicycle

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