The new Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway is delivering significant improvements for freight with reduced travel times, new data has revealed.

Analytics company Robinsight gathered insights on the new motorway, which opened on 19 June, using data from EROAD telematics stemming from 13,000 trips.

The new motorway exhibits an average travel time of 12.7 minutes, saving 12 mins per trip.

The data showed a 51% reduction in travel times for northbound trips and a 44% reduction for southbound trips.

The data indicates trucks over 12 tonnes save an average of 9.8 minutes per trip. Light vehicles reduce their trip time by an average of 11 minutes.

Industries such as transport, postal and warehousing, general freight, and refrigerated haulage all show significant improvements in travel times, according to the data.

Travel on the Friday before a holiday has significantly improved compared to travel times on the old route. The data shows travel times dropping from 24.6 minutes on the Friday before Auckland Anniversary 2023 and 21.4 minutes on the Friday before Waitangi Day 2023 to 12.7 minutes on 30th June, the end of School Term 2.

Steady speeds lead to efficient fuel usage and fewer emissions. Vehicles on the new motorway maintain more consistent speeds than the older route. Heavy vehicles’ speed consistency has increased by 11%, and light vehicles’ by 13%.

Furthering the safety benefits of the new motorway, the data shows no harsh braking incidents among heavy vehicles since the opening of the motorway.