24 April 2019

A record number of Aucklanders are leaving their cars at home in favour of public transport to get into the city centre each morning.

Auckland Transport’s Group Manager Metro Services, Stacey Van Der Putten says 48 per cent of people used buses, trains and ferries to get into the city between 7am and 9am in March. “This is a new high, up two per cent on February and a six per cent increase on January.”

Last month, 767 fewer vehicles drove into the city in the morning, despite 4,000 more people making the trip.

“It’s great that Aucklanders are getting the message that there are options other than driving. In fact total public transport patronage for March was just over ten million trips, another record.”

Last year new bus networks were rolled out in the central suburbs and on the North Shore, more than 500,000 Aucklanders now live within 500 metres of a frequent service, which runs at least every 15 minutes, all day every day. Each weekday morning 620 buses bring Aucklanders into the city many of them using dedicated bus or transit lanes.

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

Auckland Transport actively monitors the transport network within the city centre with the goal of making sure that the movement of people can be as efficient as possible.

To manage the growing demands on the city centre network priority is given to public transport, walking and biking.

People walking or biking into the city also took advantage of the fine weather with the percentage rising from seven to nine per cent.

There were 25,000 bike trips on the Nelson St cycleway and 43,000 trips on Quay St in March.

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