The Herald reports today that public transport use is at a 25 year high for the Auckland Region, and also that the results of a survey show that people’s experiences of public transport are improving – which bodes well for the future:
Use of public transport in Auckland has hit a 25-year high, with commuters reporting increased satisfaction with the service on offer.The Auckland Regional Transport Authority’s annual passenger figures showed 58.6 million trips were made in the year to June 2009, a 7.7 per cent increase on last year and the highest level of public transport use in the city since the mid-1980s.
In 1984, Aucklanders made 60.69 million trips on public transport, but by 1994 that number had declined to a low of 33.3 million.
Rail use has almost doubled to 7.6 million trips, the highest since records began in 1955.
Meanwhile, a customer satisfaction survey conducted by research company Gravitas showed satisfaction rising from 71 per cent in 2005 to 84 per cent this year.
“This has been a very good year for the growth of public transport use in Auckland,” said ARTA chairman Rabin Rabindran.
“The very fact that Aucklanders are now asking for more public transport is an indication in itself that we are headed in the right direction.”
Forty-five per cent of respondents to the Gravitas survey said they were using public transport more often than 12 months ago, while 91 per cent said they would probably recommend using their chosen mode of transport.
Ninety-six per cent said they were likely to use public transport again.
Sixteen per cent cited fuel and vehicle costs as their reasons for using public transport, and that it was a less stressful way to travel to work and school.
Mr Rabindran said the survey also indicated that customers wanted greater frequency and a more integrated transport network. Authorities are working on an integrated ticketing system to streamline the use of ferry, bus and train services in the city in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee said the aim was for Auckland to have a public transport network capable of 100 million passenger trips within 10 years.
COMMUTER TRIPS
Annual passenger transport numbers (for the year to June 30, 2009)
* 58.6 million trips, highest level since the mid-1980s.
* 7.6 million rail trips, highest since records began in 1955.
* 1.5 million on the Northern Express, a 150 per cent growth in two years.
* 2.3 million trips taken by senior citizens on SuperGold card in the first six months of 2009.
* 75.5 per cent increase of student travel on public transport.
So, public transport use is booming while state highway traffic levels are falling. What should we do? Oh I know, let’s take hundreds of millions of dollars away from funding public transport and plough it into building more motorways!
Real smart Steven Joyce, real smart.
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It shows that when you invest in public transport, it will get used! Let go for gold and build a City Rail Loop to continue the upward trend! oh wait we spent all our money on roading:(
would be interesting to see the splits of the figures to see exactly where the biggest growth areas are, and how well the fully privatised bus services are doing. I remember reading a release like this last year and the normal private bus services had gone nowhere and the more heavily ARTA controlled services (Northern Busway and Rail)was where all the growth had come from. Of course this is where the investment has been going but still NZ Bus has much to answer for. Where is the innovation that the free market was supposed to unleash for public transport?
That would be right Luke, have a read through here: http://www.arta.co.nz/assets/board%20papers/2009/June%202009.pdf
Of note:
Bus was up by 5.5% (202,175 boardings) and included:
o The Northern Express patronage was 20.7% (21,603 boardings) higher and Albany
and Constellation stations feeder buses up 28.3% (6,852 boardings).
o The contracted trips of Mt Eden Rd services had 27.9% growth.
o Botany to CBD routes 680 and 681 corridor up 56.6%.
As far as I know those are the only “fully contracted” services operating throughout Auckland (rather than the typical commercial/subsidised split). That’s why ARTA knows the exact numbers, and wow look they’ve all been very successful!
I’d like to know how many are new trips (trips that wouldn’t have happened), mode shift from driving a car, mode shift from being a passenger in a car, mode shift from cycling, mode shift from walking. Only one of those is a positive, the rest is either a transfer or a negative. ARTA sadly has little interest in this apparently.
Public transport does have more purpose than just getting people out of their cars. A good public transport system offers mobility and accessibility around the city without having to drive your car.
I think a decent chunk probably has come from people driving their cars though. NZTA data for state highway volumes generally show declining traffic levels over the past couple of years.