Patronage up on Auckland public transport as commuters ditch cars, figures show

Monday, 6 May 2019

In three months, the number of people travelling to the city by car is down 7 per cent.

More and more people travelling to Auckland's city centre are jumping on public transport and leaving their cars at home.

People travelling into the central city by car declined by 7 per cent and there was a 6 per cent surge in the number of people using public transport from January to March of this year, according to figures released by Auckland Transport.

Improvements to the transport network are behind the surge in patronage, councillor Chris Darby says.

Planning committee chairman Chris Darby said improvements to the public transport network were behind the change.

'We have seen steady growth in bus, rail and ferry passenger numbers for consecutive years. This year though we're seeing a whole new wave of Aucklanders parking the car up and taking to public transport.'

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Travel times had slowed in the central city from the start of the year due to construction on Quay Street, which is part of a revamp of the city’s waterfront area for the 2021 America’s Cup.

AT had encouraged commuters to switch to public transport to ease congestion and improve travel times with the added obstructions.

AT's group manager of metro services Stacey Van Der Putten said it was clear improvements to facilities were paying off.

'It's great that Aucklanders are getting the message that there are options other than driving,” he said.

“More bus lanes, electric trains, double decker buses and improved facilities mean more people prefer public transport as a quick and comfortable option.”

AT's monthly indicators report in March found a spike in patrons on recently developed transport networks like the Pukekohe rail rider and North Shore northern express.

Darby said patronage data from March confirmed these projects achieved “significant travel benefits for hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders”.

“While the growth in public transport numbers is most pronounced for journeys to and from the city centre, the March data confirms patronage growth is widespread across Auckland,” he said.

Patronage on public transport in the year to March 2019 was 98.2 million, up 6.4 million from the previous year.