We’d already heard about the spectacular rail patronage results of passing 13 million trips, an increase of 1 million in just 5 months. Now we’ve got the full patronage information for February and it’s looking good.
One of the aspects I noticed in the table above is the Western line appears to have dropped however AT say that is just because of the timing of events last year and so if removing special event tickets from the numbers of each year shows patronage growth for the month of 9.8%.
One impressive aspect about the rail growth is that the total patronage in February was higher than any single month last year despite being only 28 days and including a public holiday. Only one month – October 2011 which was the peak thank to the RWC – has higher and the difference is only around 2,000 trips.
The total patronage growth is shown below.
Other than the rail results it’s also pleasing to see buses growing so strongly. The Northern Express (NEX) is obviously still up strongly but other buses which carry the bulk of patronage are increasing too. For the 12 months to the end of Feb patronage was 7.6% (around 4 million trips) compared to the same time last year.
With results so strong I’m really looking forward to seeing just how big the numbers are for March. Given what I’ve been seeing and hearing about how full trains, buses and ferries are the results could be absolutely massive. Of course we’ve also been hearing a lot about buses and trains being so full that it’s putting people off using them, especially on the rail network where issues and delays have become an almost daily occurrence.
On issues, this is showing through in the train punctuality stats which have shown a decline in recent months and it can also in part be attributed to services being too full increasing dwell times. I suspect the 78% the western line managed to achieve could go much lower in March.
We also have Wellington’s patronage results for Feb which have remained flat. The monthly figures for buses and trains were down 0.2% and up 0.1% respectively. Due to growth over the last year they were both up on the 12 month figure though.
Processing...
I wouldn’t be surprised if Western Line patronage stagnated until the electric trains are fully online. Peak trains are crammed to capacity and they physically can’t fit more pax on board!
Good to see that patronage is growing. Just hope there’s no complacency at AT. With an average of less than one return trip per week per person on PT, there’s still a long way to go to catch up with the OECD average of almost 1 in 5 trips by PT and many countries and most cities doing much better than that. Auckland needs to have about a te-fold increase before it starts to compare with most cities and the even the plans for new services couldn’t cope with that.
As AT [as shown by their lobbying to get targets lowered] and especially the government did not believe that such growth would happen, I suspect that even once all the current batch of EMUs are operational we will still have capacity issues at peak. Off peak not so much.
So other than time shifting incentives like radically discounted off peak fares and improved off peak hours of operation, which will help, I suspect the case for earlier delivery of the second tranche of trains planned for post CRL demand will get ever stronger, so all 6-car sets can be run on all three main lines at the peaks, and for longer as those peak loads spread out into the shoulders.
Latent demand for improved PT and high quality places in Auckland is yet to discover its limit. It seems almost no investment in these areas goes unrewarded. Exciting times.
+10000
I don’t care if it’s a bit of serious pork – can’t we get the Nats lined up for a good PT-based bribe…? How much do they want the fourth term or a winning mayor…?
/sarc. Maybe.
D’oh. Maybe they actually do realise that getting transport right is trickier than they originally thought…
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11424115
Yes but National’s pork for Auckland would be an acceleration of the AWHC, I don’t think the current lot will ever realise the importance of PT, Joyce himself says he had and has no holistic view of transport he’s only interested in roading.
This month (March) it seems we’re breaking records and the old Diesel powered trains in equal measure.
I hope that AT can get those EMU drivers cross-trained so that they can finally get all the old Diesels off the Western Line ASAP.
This hand to mouth existence with regards keeping the old kit going while they try and bootstrap the EMUs is not working very well so far.
Time to bite the bullet and run mixed Diesels and EMUs on either Southern or Western Line.
No no no – leave the electrics in the shed. They are breaking down as often or more often that the older stuff.
This information is really interesting! The Western Line trains have definitely been packed like sardines this month, even during non-peak hours >,<
Do you know if it is possible to find out patronage usage by type (eg. students, children, adults, cash fare vs hop fare etc.) for each mode of transport (bus vs train etc.)?
And if so, where to find it?!
Thanks heaps!
Arrow
Interesting that the punctuality for the all electric Eastern line is only 80%. It doesn’t bode well for aiming for a better overall service once the full EM rollout is complete.
What’s happening to stop better punctuality with the EMUs?
Also the comments about the sardine service on Western Line trains is true. All the trains I catch at peak outbound are only 4car trains and they’re only running at 15 minute intervals. It looks like pretty soon patronage will max out at peak times simply because there’s no more space. We need q10 minute services now and 6car trains. At Kingsland station a fortnight ago the PA announcements were saying the service was full and passengers shouldn’t try to board because it wasn’t safe!
Probably a combination of implementing the new trains, people getting used to them, and having them mix with diesels around Britomart/general network delays etc.
AT reckon 10-minute frequencies aren’t possible on the Western until the Sarawia St crossing closes.
That’s a bit rubbish. The trains can run. It just means the rail crossing will be shut a lot. But the good people of Sarawira area should have found a compromise with AT by now instead of the blocking all the options. The rest of Auckland shouldn’t have to suffer for one street.
The crossing should always be down until some arrives by car and presses a button, then it will remain down until such a time as its determined no trains will be delayed, exactly how pedestrians are treated vis a vis cars. Then let’s see how long they complain about the options on the table.
Applying logic in this argument will turn you into a heretic.
Whatever would the chattering classes say?
I’d predict that bus numbers would be at least 5000 people per month higher if the NEX buses operated up to Silverdale on a 15 minute frequency in peak times and 30 mins off peak. The NEX itself would probably be an extra 5-10,000 more per month if the majority of the buses were double-decker as people are being put off by having to stand in a crammed bus.
Speaking of standing, why can’t there be any rails installed in the back part of buses for people standing? (there are only hand holds on seat backs on most so the back of the bus is either a no-go for standing or dangerous for those standing.
Sounds good for ordering another 15 EMU’s.
However if funding is difficult, now that all the lines are electrified there are now better options to get more mileage out of the SA carriages than retaining unreliable 45-year old diesels. Queensland has over 40 excess 25 KV electric locomotives, the oldest of which was built in 1986. These have twice the power and probably half the operating costs of the diesels, and could be acquired at perhaps less than $1m each. These could then power 6-car SA sets for use in peak periods.
Ah more Australian cast-offs to run our fleets on.
But seriously, they might not be compatible with the Auckland network due to the issue that the existing KR electric have – while they’re 25KV they don’t have the same level of short circuit protection or something like that so wouldn’t be allowed on the Auckland Electric network. These Queensland ones might suffer the same issue.
And KR seems to be wanting to divest itself of all electric locos as fast as possible given how they now usually run diesels down the main trunk line.
Original plan was for mixed EMU and electric loco fleet but changed to all EMU after analysing it and finding it would cost more due to maintenance and mixed performance
Have AT provided any hint of contingency planning should the current EMU capacity not be sufficient ?
A lease of Electric Locomotives or additional carriages for existing EMU are looking like lower cost alternatives to increase capacity as an interim step. The issue with a mixed diesel and electric fleet is the speed differential between them.
The option of running diesels on the western line until additional EMU can be procured is unpalatable, primarily because the Western line is under resourced as it is and sending a message that it’s the second class citizen of the rail network, which is the third cousin within Auckland Transport doesn’t help patronage that makes everyone’s commute easier.
Western Line punctuality for a five minute window is shocking. “Public Transport: Reliable and Effective (three quarters of the time)!”.
13 million people per year is a great result for the rail network. If this keeps up in another couple of years the three rail routes combined will be carrying as many people as Ti Rakau Drive does.
Please be more constructive with your comments in the future.
Stu you losing your sense of humour over there in Brisbane? Best get to somewhere even flatter and damper….
To be fair Patrick I do make the same crack every month so it probably stopped being funny to Stu ages ago. It still amuses me though.
And it is still as lame as it ever was. You’re at the wrong side of the driving curve to be blowing that trumpet.
Even better news is that the double tracked western rail line now carries almost as many people as Richmond Road in Ponsonby does. This is a fantastic achievement! Rail will be our saviour yet!!!
Bollocks; how do you figure that?
The data above says western line 4.6million per year (or 12,600 per day). AT traffic count on Richmond Rd in October 2013 between Norfolk and Douglas St 12,618 vehicles per day. Of course Richmond Road also has cyclists, pedestrians, car passengers and bus passengers so in terms of people per day it is well ahead of the numbers using the western rail line. Just think if we spend enough billions on it the western line might one day carry as many people as Ponsonby Road itself.
Given the disparity of investment, I’d suggest that subsidy/investment per passenger kilometer that PT is already ahead.
That individuals choose to use what can only be described as an inferior good (PT) over other options bodes well for Auckland becoming a liveable city, but it still has a fair amount of work to do.
How are you (mfwic) going to help the whole get better?
Just a quick check, 13m trips equates to almost 36k per day however we also know that weekday patronage is up to 50k.
The only stats I can find for Ti Rakau Dr are 21k and 23k although it doesn’t say if this is for both directions or one. That means at most we’re talking about 44k. Even in that case then on a weekday the rail network is carrying more people than Ti Rakau
And I wonder before 1955 how many tram routes were carrying heaps more people than a lot of major roads.
Then we spent 60 years investing in pretty much nothing but car travel and now travel by car is at 75-80% (and still dropping) of all journeys.
I wonder what would happen if we spent the next 60 years investing 90% of transport funding on PT and cycling. Even 40% would be a massive step up.
Why does Sarawia st need a bridge when you can demolish one house and turn the walkway into a road and enter from Furneaux way.
Use of the PWA is illegal East of Newmarket.
Because Furneaux way isn’t a public road, in addition to demolishing the apartment building (note not a house) AT would have to buy all the roads around James Cook Cres from the body corporate that currently owns and maintains them.
Why did the council consent to the layout of this whole area as it is in the first place years ago? Is there no forward thinking or common sense? Aren’t many of them leaky and need demolishing anyway? Let’s hope so.
You could ask that about many things in Auckland…
The old Auckland City Council was told that rail as a PT option in Auckland was soon to be dead, this is 1991 or so and it very nearly was the case.
So that thinking went, crossing wouldn’t see much if any rail traffic before too long, no problem developing on the other side of it with only that crossing as the in/out route..
So ACC could not legally stop the developments in Laxon Terrace or Sarawera St that were happening across the rail line.
ACC as it was then also did not want those roads to become a “through route” between Newmarket and the back streets of Newmarket as it would put pressure on the Broadway junction where Sarawera St joined Broadway.
So thats why they didn’t put a stop being a cul-de-sac – which they could have done easily, if they had they could have closed the crossing without a problem..
The planners simply rolled over and consented to each and every development proposal as they were submitted.
Council doesn’t want those private roads in the Furneaux Way/Cook Cres subdivision either – as there is doubt over their fitness for purpose (too narrow) as I understand it.
So if they took over those roads they could be up for a nightmare of costs down the track.
But if the old ACC had stood its ground they could have gotten a better outcome for sure.
The NEX stats will be obscured slightly by routes like the 881, which comes down the Northern Busway and goes past Britomart on the way to Symonds street. Half the people on the bus get off at Britomart. There may be other routes like this one, but I’ve found myself jumping on this bus if it arrived before the next NEX…because the NEX buses can be full, while not everyone realises the 881 follows the same route into Custom St and past Britomart.
I have a suspicion that when analysed the number of people who travel along the Northern Busway is greater than the NEX numbers, primarily because anyone who is at a Northern Busway station gets on the first bus that arrives, as they all go to the same place.
The reduction in traffic on local roads, along with the speed of travel for those using the Busway makes it almost criminal that other stretches of motorway haven’t had the same treatment.
I’d like to see the data for the whole of the Busway or even better a graphic showing passenger journeys, the thicker the line the more traffic, regardless of route/carrier, maybe split by colour for mode.
Yes, the Northern Busway carries a lot more services than just the NEX. You can double the NEX figure to get a busway figure, more or less.
I thought so, but were is the data to back up the assertion?
Without showing the true benefit (Total journeys v NEX journeys) the likelihood of that sort of investment elsewhere is low, as people don’t understand the entire value created.
correct up to a point, Nik. a considerable number of people routinely wait for buses like the 900X (especially at Constellation) to take them up Albert St, with the Aotea and AUT stops on Mayoral Drive being popular alighting points
Absolutely. The flows from point A to point B are important.
The question becomes how much does the Busway/Infrastructure assist in generating value. Without understanding the value, further investment in infrastructure is unlikely to occur or be significantly harder than it potentially needs to be.
AT knows this information, they have the HOP data and they know what services the HOP cards are tagged on to, and they know the routes.
So they can calculated how many users are using the Busway, even if they’re not NEX services so don’t count towards the RTN network totals..
At least its good to see the “Punctuality/Service Delivery” chart back somewhere! I can’t recall seeing one in a train in the last 4 months. An educated guess is things were even worse in December and January. I don’t think its a matter of electric trains vs diesels because Onehunga is now slower and less on time than it was pre electrification as is the Eastern line that is purely electric, at 80%.
My take on it is apart from trains that never make it (break down?) is that the various junctions are overwhelmed and of those, Britomart and Newmarket cannot cope with the volumes. Britomart is hamstrung because of the one in one out, or two in none out or two out and none in – scenarios. And Newmarket is just not big enough. Sadly there was supposed to be access to all platforms from the Western line but for reasons unknown Platform 4 (is that the one on the DIck Smith side?) never got joined in and as a result trains are constantly waiting at the Sarawia crossing, not for cars but for trains to clear Newmarket.
So pre CRL, which is a pipe dream until the Key government is removed, something must be done urgently to stop this rot or to avoid longer official trip times, when they should be getting shorter, just to pretend everything is “on time” . Logically the only way to improve things is completing the links to all platforms to the Western line and to bite the bullet and address the access problems through the Britomart tunnel.
AT need to just run the reasons on the western line and then give those Newmarket residents the code of 12 trains an hour shutting them in and more after the crl or a bridge.
I think the crossing’s mere existence is the reason for the speed restriction imposed on that stretch, meaning upping the amount of trains just isn’t possible due to the inability to clear sections fast enough. I’m just guessing, though.
That’s a horribly slow section of the network anyway, especially the Vector loop-de-loop, one of the greta things about the CRL is it directs most rail traffic away from this route anyway…
It is, it takes almost ten minutes just to get from Britomart to Newmarket – ridiculous considering its proximity. Both stations are bottlenecks as well.