Media release
27 November 2006

U2 concert record high for special event public transport use

Public Transport use in Auckland for special events, reached an all time record high with last weekend’s two U2 concerts in which approximately a quarter of the 90,000 attendees used public transport to get to and from the concerts.

Just over eleven thousand passenger journeys were made by bus to the two concerts while thirty two thousand, four hundred journeys were made by train.

The previous high of train usage for a major event was during the Lion’s tour in 2005 when 7,500 people were carried to a game with 45,000 people attending.

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority’s Chief Executive, Fergus Gammie, says “ ARTA is very pleased with the figures which clearly show Aucklanders are increasingly switching on to public transport, not only for day to day travel but for leisure activities”.

Mr Gammie said, “The last weekend was an especially busy one for public transport, with three major events in succession- the two U2 concerts and Auckland’s Farmer’s Santa Parade. We managed to move a huge number of people, successfully, by public transport which is all credit to our train operator, Veoila Transport Auckland and to our bus operators.

“Many Aucklanders are seeing that using public transport is a hassle free, easy way to get to special events. There are no parking costs or anxiety in trying to find a car park. Travelling by public transport makes for an easy start and end to a night out.

“It’s great for ARTA to see Aucklanders moving to use the improved services we’re offering as we, and our partners, improve public transport across the region.

“While we’ve got a long way to go in terms developing a comprehensive network, we’re increasingly offering a public transport service that offers Aucklanders reliability, frequency and choice. That’s evidenced in the increasing numbers of Aucklanders now using our public transport system for both day to day and leisure activities”, said Mr Gammie.

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