Blow-up dolls and dressed-up dogs are among the "buddies" North Shore drivers have used to get around transit lane rules.
Private vehicle drivers can only use the lanes if there is a minimum of three people in the car or face a $150 fine.
The lanes, which can also be used by buses and taxis, are there to help ease traffic congestion by encouraging carpooling.
"They've certainly found some creative ways to try to circumvent the rules," North Shore City Council traffic safety manager Andre Dannhauser told NZPA.
"But it's important to us that we enforce the rules properly."
Some drivers have put blow-up dolls and mannequins in the car, while others have dressed up dogs in children's hoodies.
Another driver quizzed about the whereabouts of a third passenger quipped "he's in the toolbox in the back seat", Mr Dannhauser said.
He said an earlier scam involved students making themselves available at the beginning of a transit lane to drivers and then getting out at the end.
"They stopped after a while - fortunately they either got tired of running back up the hill to the start of the transit lane again or else they came to understand why we have the transit lanes."
