We Got Auckland Transport's Pothole Data — What 26,863 Reports Reveal (2024–2026)
In May 2026 we asked Auckland Transport, under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, for its complete pothole dispatch records. On 9 June 2026 AT released them (case CAS-1344360-H7J1V4): 26,863 pothole dispatches covering January 2024 to 3 June 2026, with road, local area, priority, response times, and claim costs for each.
As far as we know, this is the first time Auckland's complete pothole log has been analysed publicly. We run a pothole repair company, so we read pavement data for a living — and the dataset deserves both the credit and the scrutiny it gets below.
Three headline findings: Auckland Transport is fast when it acts (96.1% of dispatches met their response target). It closed 28.3% of reports — 7,605 of them — as "No Action Required", and told us it holds no breakdown of why. And its pothole spend has tripled in two years, from $0.69M in FY24 to $2.11M in FY26.
Credit where due: the response-time story is good
The popular story is that the council is slow on potholes. AT's own data doesn't support it: 96.1% of the 26,863 dispatches were responded to within their target time, and 90% of repairs happened within about 15.5 hours of dispatch. AT's maintenance spec sets hard targets — emergency-priority potholes get a 1-hour response on urban roads and 1.5 hours rural. On responsiveness, the network is performing. Aucklanders who report a genuine pothole on a public road mostly get a fast result — here's how to report one properly.
The 28% gap: 7,605 reports closed with no repair — and no reason on record
28.3% of all pothole dispatches — 7,605 reports — were closed as "No Action Required." No repair was carried out. When we asked for the breakdown of reasons, AT declined under section 17(e) of LGOIMA: the information does not exist. The organisation does not record why more than a quarter of pothole reports end with nothing being done.
Some of those closures will be legitimate — duplicates of an already-fixed fault, damage below AT's intervention threshold (a pothole officially counts at 100 mm across or 50 mm deep), or reports about surfaces AT doesn't own. But that's the point: nobody can say in what proportions, because the reasons were never logged. For the 7,605 people who took the time to report, the file just closes.
One structural cause we see weekly from the other side: AT's mandate ends at the road-reserve boundary. Potholes in carparks, private driveways, rights-of-way, and shop forecourts are the property owner's responsibility — report those to AT and "no action required" is the system working as designed. If your pothole is on private land, the fix is a private repair quote, not a council report.
The money: spend has tripled
Claimed pothole-repair spend in the dataset totals $4.87M, and the trend is the story: FY24 $0.69M → FY25 $1.87M → FY26 $2.11M (with FY24 and FY26 both partial years in the data). Average claim per pothole dispatch: roughly $324. The true total is higher still — one rural contract area is paid by monthly lump sum, so only its out-of-scope claims appear. Whether the driver is catch-up maintenance, weather, or traffic load, the direction is unambiguous: Auckland's pothole bill is climbing steeply.
When and where: winter surge, rural burden
The seasonal pattern is textbook. Winter (June–September) peaks in every year of the data, and July 2025 was the single worst month: 2,029 dispatches — a pothole logged roughly every 22 minutes, around the clock. We've published a separate breakdown of why July is Auckland's worst pothole month.
Geographically, the load is rural: Rodney logged 6,753 dispatches and Franklin 5,539 — together that's 46% of all of Auckland's pothole dispatches in two areas — followed by Waitākere (3,130) and Albany (2,177). The full area-by-area picture is in our Auckland pothole hotspots analysis.
Method and source
Source: Auckland Transport LGOIMA response CAS-1344360-H7J1V4 (released 9 June 2026), Appendix A: CT_DISPATCH, 26,863 rows, January 2024 – 3 June 2026, plus AT's published maintenance specifications for intervention levels and response targets. Analysis: Rapidpatch, June 2026. Figures are AT's own records; spend figures are claims as recorded and exclude one lump-sum rural contract. We'll re-request and re-run this analysis annually. Questions about the data: fix@rapidpatch.co.nz.
Frequently asked questions
How do I report a pothole to Auckland Transport?
Via AT's online report form or 09 355 3553 — full walkthrough in our Auckland pothole reporting guide. Include a photo and exact location; potholes at or past AT's intervention level (100 mm wide or 50 mm deep) on public roads get dispatched fast — 96% within target.
What does "No Action Required" mean for my report?
It means the dispatch was closed without a repair. AT records no reason category, so there's no way to know whether yours was a duplicate, below threshold, or outside AT's network. If it's genuinely on a public road and still there, report it again — persistence works.
Will AT fix a pothole in my carpark or driveway?
No. AT maintains the public road reserve only. Carparks, driveways, rights-of-way, and forecourts are private surfaces — the owner repairs them. That's one likely contributor to the 28% no-action closures. For private surfaces, get a photo quote instead.
Is Auckland Transport slow at fixing potholes?
The data says no: 96.1% of dispatches met response targets, and 90% were handled within ~15.5 hours. The system's weak point isn't speed — it's the 28% of reports closed with no repair and no recorded reason.
Why has pothole spending tripled?
The data records the spend, not the cause. Plausible drivers include deferred-maintenance catch-up, wetter winters, and heavier traffic loads. What's certain is the direction: $0.69M to $2.11M a year in two years, and the recorded figure understates the true total.
Public road pothole? Report it to AT — the data says they're fast. Private carpark, driveway, or right-of-way? That one's on the owner — send photos via the photo-quote form and get a fixed price within 24 hours.
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