Mark Owen, Regional Manager Lower North Island and Top of the South, says major sporting events can bring many fans into Wellington’s CBD.

“More people are likely to travel into Wellington from out of town to catch the action, particularly for the bigger matches. It’ll mean more traffic on the roads, more people on public transport, and a greater chance of queues and traffic congestion.”

Metlink buses and trains will be free to match ticket holders on game days and should be considered as a transport option.

Mr Owen says with nine matches between 21 July and 11 August, and six of them on weekdays, it is important fans get to the games and commuters get in and out of the city.

“Please, factor the events into your travel plans, and make sure you get to where you need to be on time.”

A complete list of the Wellington FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 games is below. Fans and commuters are urged to note the times and plan their travel appropriately. Games will typically end around two hours after kick-off.

Important information for commuters and fans

• Expect there to be fewer carparks available in the city on game days.
• Commuter rail capacity is being increased on match days and bus capacity is also being increased with Metlink using larger buses on routes near Wellington Stadium.
• Game day ticket holders can travel for free on Metlink:
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 ticket holders to ride for free with Metlink
• Planned maintenance on rail lines has been deferred to avoid match days. This means trains will follow normal schedules with no services replaced by buses.
• Public transport passengers can stay up to date by checking the Metlink website:
  • Metlink

20 July update

Unfortunately due to resourcing issues, the culvert installation works on SH30 near Kōpaki, programmed for Monday 24 & Tuesday 25 July needs to be postponed to the contingency dates of Thursday 27 & Friday 28 July.

This updates the information below:

17 July traffic bulletin

The full closure will be between 8am and 3pm. The road will be re-opened under the existing stop/go traffic management outside of these hours.

The culvert will direct water away from the slip site. The slip site repairs will begin as soon as the culvert work is complete. No closure is required for the slip repair once the culvert has been installed.

Emergency Services will be given access through the worksite at all times.

Unfortunately there is no detour route available for heavy vehicles. Road users should expect significant delays.

From 8pm–5am, both the westbound offramp and onramp at Lincoln Road will be closed.

All motorists travelling west on SH16 that want to get off the motorway at Lincoln Road, can exit early at Te Atatu offramp, or will need to continue past Lincoln Road and exit at the Royal Road offramp and follow the detour in place.

All motorists wanting to enter SH16 to head west-bound at Lincoln Road will instead need to follow the appropriate detour route. Those wanting to turn left onto SH16 will be detoured onto SH16 east-bound to the Te Atatu interchange to then enter SH16 west-bound via Te Atatu onramp. Those wanting to turn right onto SH16 will be detoured to the Te Atatu interchange via local roads to enter SH16 via Te Atatu onramp.

Electronic signage will be in place to notify motorists of theses closures.

These works are dependent on a number of factors, particularly weather, and may be postponed at short notice. We will provide an update if the work is postponed.

Contractors will be upgrading the traffic lights to reflect the changes made as part of the Northwestern Bus Improvements (NWBI) project.

Waka Kotahi thanks drivers for their patience and understanding while we complete this important work