Auckland Transport has released the patronage figures for August and the great news is that positive signs of patronage growth are continuing. Compared to August 2012 there was one less business day in August which generally accounts for a roughly 4% difference in patronage and on top of that there were less special events and more rail network shutdowns. Taking all of these situations into account it is estimated that patronage increased by 2.5% compared to August 2012 while rail patronage increased by ~8.8%. The ferry network has also remained strong, most likely helped along by the much more settled weather we experienced this year. I think we still have a way to go to get back to the great growth we saw a few years ago but as mentioned, signs are positive we are back on the right track.
Auckland public transport patronage totalled 69,170,011 passengers for the 12-months to Aug-2013 a decrease of -0.4% on the 12-months to Jul-2013. August monthly patronage was 6,535,601 a decrease of -34,831 boardings or -0.5% on Aug-2012, normalised to ~+2.5% accounting for one less business day in Aug-2013 compared to Aug-2012.
Rail patronage totalled 10,115,650 passengers for the 12-months to Aug-2013, an increase of +0.2% on the 12-months to Jul-2013. Patronage for Aug-2013 was 1,004,630 an increase of +17,104 boardings or +1.7% on Aug-2012, normalised to ~+8.8%.
The Northern Express bus service carried 2,277,980 passenger trips for the 12-months to Aug-2013, a decrease of -8,761 boardings or -0.4% on the 12 months to Jul-2013. Northern Express bus service patronage for Aug-2013 was 214,172, a decrease of -8,185 boardings or -3.7% on Aug-2012, normalised to ~+0.3% accounting for one less business day in Aug-2013.
Other bus services carried 51,224,477 passenger trips for the 12-months to Aug-2013, a decrease of -0.1% on the 12-months to Jul-2013 Other bus services patronage for Aug-2013 was 4,902,264, a decrease of -54,718 boardings or -1.1% on Aug-2012, normalised to ~+2.9%.
Ferry services carried 5,551,904 passenger trips for the 12-months to Aug-2013, an increase of +0.2% on the 12 months to Jul-2013. Ferry services patronage for Aug-2013 was 414,535, an increase of 10,968 boardings or +2.7% on Aug-2012, normalised to +6.7%
On the rail network and now the bus network (excluding the Northern Express) we are now getting average weekday and weekend day patronage. What the two graphs below show is that average weekday and weekend day patronage in August 2013 was higher than August 2013. However with weekday patronage so much higher it illustrates why one less business day can have so much impact on overall patronage numbers.
One of the areas that has bound to have been helping rail patronage in recent months has been the vast improvement in on time performance with it once again being over 89%. At the AT board meetings Mike Lee often questions the total figure seeing as the three lines that have the most services (South, East and West) are all less than 89%. This month AT have included a table that the numbers are based off which should hopefully help answer that as Mike and others who might question it will be able to work it out for themselves. One key point to note is that punctuality is based on services that are completed so cancelled trains don’t count against the on time performance metric.
Of course the bus and ferry services are still self-reported and based of ensuring the bus left the start of the run on time rather than when it reached its destination meaning we still get silly figures saying some bus companies managed 99.98% punctuality.
On the cycling front there is more good news with cycling counts continuing to increase.
In the board report AT say that the issue that has been affecting the roll out HOP to other buses is due to intermittent technical problems with some of the ticket machines. I understand it might have been bad batch that has been causing the fault so hopefully we should start to see the roll-out restarted again soon. They have also provided this graph which I find really interesting showing HOP usage on the two bus companies currently using it. The percentage of people using HOP has been increasing on both buses but it is at a much greater level on Birkenhead. But perhaps the most fascinating part is just how much the percentage of HOP use drops off on the weekends.
Other interesting comments in the board report include these excellent pieces of news
Concept design options for the Fanshawe/Customs Corridor are underway, with priority for a bus rapid transit corridor to extend the Northern Busway into the city centre.
Site options are being evaluated for locations and circulation for new Downtown and Wynyard Quarter PT Interchanges, prior to engagement with affected landowners.
Procurement of design of roading and infrastructure for Wynyard Quarter South will commence in September, including the extension of the Daldy St Linear Park.
Hopefully the first point means buses from the north shore will no longer have to crawl along Sturdee St as I’ve heard stories that that section alone can double trip times.
Elsewhere AT say they focusing on initially getting the Dominion Rd parallel cycle routes designed first so that they can be built in advance of the more expensive road upgrade. Lastly at Mt Albert there is good news as the council have finally come to an agreement with the owner of the carpark close to the intersection of New North Rd and Mt Albert/Carrington Rd. That will enable the land to be turned into a public square with a new walkway connecting into the recently upgraded station.
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Some good news on a variety of fronts. However the AT HOP card disappointment continues. It has been four weeks since AT pulled the plug at the last minute on the introduction of AT Hop on the NZ Bus and Ritchies services on the North Shore and still there is no word of when it has been rescheduled to. The big variation in use of the card on Birkenhead Transport services can be attributed to people only really using the card for monthly passes and the lack of incentive to use it at weekends or for occasional trips with the removal of the Northern Pass from use on BT.
Anecdotally the same is true in Wellington with Snapper use. Bus trips take similar times to week days as people use cash and slow down boarding times. Fares in both cities need to be incentivised a lot more to make the stored value (come on GWRC) cards or HOP the payment of choice
“One key point to note is that punctuality is based on services that are completed so cancelled trains don’t count against the on time performance metric.” This is good but do you know if incomplete services count for time performance, such as ones that dump passengers at the nearest station mid trip and then go on non stop to the original destination, so as to more or less run to time?
I don’t think it’s that surprising HOP usage drops off on weekends.
You would expect a higher proportion of discretionary passengers on weekends, which are less likely to use HOP. In comparison, your regular commuters benefit most from HOP because they travel the most.
I’d also expect to see the same drop in % of HOP patronage during holiday periods.
Why are they less likely to use AT HOP? because the incentive is pathetic! AT eventually needs to get to the same situation as in Melbourne where you have to have a Myki card to travel on trams and buses, and pretty much on their trains too. Or in London with the Oyster card where you save a pound a ride on the bus. But while the smooth introduction of AT HOP appears to be beyond AT how are they ever going to see their way to introduce a decent fare system?
I find this subject patronising. 😛
The NZ Herald are very anti public transport. They displayed a negative title calling it a decline in public transport. Must be John Key’s advisors dictating the headlines
Well if you look at the table there was a decline in PT patronage this month.
Anyway one month comparisons aren’t the best admittedly but if you look at the year to year comparisons as well PT patronage has declined. I see nothing wrong with the Herald title.
Radio New Zealand is also reporting a decline.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/222643/auckland-public-transport-passenger-numbers-down
Just did an interview with them so hopefully that will clear that up.
Maybe something like this could help resuscitate Aucklanders’ faith in AT and the HOP card:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19056166/free-wanganui-bus-rides-to-encourage-public-transport-use/
I still say AT spends too much time looking overseas when there are some great schemes already operating in smaller centres in NZ. And we already know the systems work in the NZ context.