Subscribe to RSSAuckland PT Patronage Breaks Records
As predicted, the March patronage figures for Auckland’s public transport are off the scale.
With higher petrol prices encouraging the growth of public transport patronage over this period, operators struggled over March to cope with the numbers. As part of measures to ease overcrowding, Auckland Transport announced last week measures for Northern Express route by promising increasing frequency and sourcing extra buses.
Auckland public transport patronage totalled 64,581,631 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 an increase of 4,971,450 boardings or +8.3%. A new record since the 1950s.
- March monthly patronage was 7,067,239 an increase of 506,025 boardings or +7.7% on March 2010. This is the first time in decades that total patronage exceeded 7 million boardings per month.
- Rail monthly patronage for March is 1,117,781 an increase of 200,064 boardings or +21.8% on March 2010. This is the first time that rail monthly patronage exceeded 1 million boardings per month.
- Northern Express bus service carried 1.99 million passenger trips for the 12-months with a growth in March 2011 compared to March 2010 of +10.7%.
Of the 7,585 timetabled rail services for March 2011 97.7% arrived at their final destination and 80.0% were on time or arrived within 5 minutes of schedule.
New Isthmus bus service redesign, including new inner and outer and city LINK services, were consulted upon during March and early April, in preparation for implementation by August.
Auckland public transport patronage totalled 64,581,631 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 an increase of 4,971,450 boardings or +8.3%
For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +8.9% . (3,959,338 boardings). Patronage for March 2011 was 7,067,239 boardings, an increase of 7% (506,025 boardings) on March 2010.
Here’s the monthly patronage trend by mode across bus, rail and ferry and by monthly total moving average. Total patronage continues to grow on a month-by-month basis.
Rail and Northern Express
Patronage totalled 11,413,732 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 (- an increase of 1,465,621 boardings or +14.7%. For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +15.2% (1,143,262 boardings)
Patronage for March 2011 was 1,351,019 boardings, an increase of +19.7% (222,607 boardings) on Total Patronage March 2010:
Rail Patronage
Rail along with the Northern Busway forms the Rapid Transit Network. Rail patronage totalled 9,423,104 passengers for the 12-months to March - an increase of 1,180,334 boardings or +14.3%:
For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +15.2% (944,064 boardings)
Patronage for March 2011 was 1,117,781 boardings, an increase of +21.8% (200,064 boardings) on March 2010
Southern and Eastern Line rail patronage including the Onehunga Line totalled 6,113,077 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 an increase of 747,440 boardings or +12.9%. For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +13.2% (567,528 boardings). Patronage for March 2011 was 711,121 boardings, an increase of +16.4% (105,320 boardings) on March 2010 (Figure 9).
In March 2011 there were 640,902 passengers recorded travelling on the Southern and Eastern Lines excluding the Onehunga Line, an increase of 5.8% on March 2010.
There were 70,219 passengers recorded using the Onehunga Line during March 2011. For the year-to-date since the inception of these services in September 2010 there have been 332,231 passengers recorded on Onehunga Line services.
Western Line rail patronage totalled 3,310,027 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 an increase of 432,894 boardings or +15%. For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +17.4% (376,536 boardings). Patronage for March 2011 was 406,660 boardings, an increase of +30.4% (94,744 boardings) on March 2010 :
The Northern Busway along with the rail network forms the Rapid Transit Network. Northern Express bus services form the major shuttle or rail equivalent service on the Northern Busway. Northern Express patronage totalled 1,990,628 passengers for the 12-months to March: an increase of 285,287 boardings or +16.7%.
For the financial year- to-date, nine months to March 2011, patronage has grown by +15.4% (199,198 boardings):
Patronage for March 2011 was 233,238 boardings, an increase of +10.7% (22,543 boardings) on March 2010″
Bus services other than the Northern20.7E%xpress form the majority of services on the Quality Transit Network and Local Connector Network including dedicated school bus services.
Busway Opened Patronage totalled 48,46191.0,%1Fe6bru3aryp2a00s8sengersfor the 12-monthsto March 2011 an increase of 3,289,952 boardings or +7.3%1.2.5%For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011,
patronage has grown by +7.8% (2,637,542 boardings). Patronage for March 2011 was 5,238,513 boardings, an increase of +4.8% (239,347 boardings) on March 2010:
Some of this increase can be attributed to the NZ Bus lock-out and industrial action that occurred in October/ November 2010:
Ferry patronage totalled 4,706,736 passengers for the 12-months to March 2011 an increase of 215,877 boardings or +4.8%. For the financial year-to-date, nine months to March 2011, of 215,877 boardings or +4.8%. Patronage for March 2011 was 477,707 boardings, an increase of +10.2% (44,071 boardings) on March 2010:
In February. Auckland public transport patronage recorded its highest 12-month patronage total since the 1950s and it is the first 12-months to exceed 64 million passenger trips. For the first time one million journeys were reached on rail in one month.
Public transport totalled 64,075,606 passengers for the 12-months to February – an increase of 4,915,341 boardings -an 8.3% increase.
Rail 12-month patronage was of 9.2 million with a growth in February 2011 compared to February 2010 – a massive 17.9% increase
Total Bus patronage exceeded 50 million passenger trips for 12-months to February 2011
Northern Express bus service carried 1.97 million passenger trips for the 12-months with a growth in February 2011 compared to February 2010 of 20.7% per cent
10 Comments
We are seeing some really stunning patronage increases on the rail network and are getting close to capacity yet it is important to remember we still have a lot of distruptions, breakdowns and late trains. Imagine what it will be with electric trains that run faster and on time on a network that pretty much brand new. It wouldn’t surprise me if we hit capacity, especially at peak times within a year of getting our new trains and with no hope of relief because the government refuses to support the CBD tunnel.
Yes its amazing how far we have come.
When this site started over 3 years ago, taking the train in Auckland was considered something really weird! Do trains exist, they used to ask!!!
How can National look at these figures and decide no, we won’t be investing in rail?? Maybe they’re not looking at them. Time for the Supercity to become a seperate state of New Zealand so they can fund public transport themselves.
Really interesting results. So Aucklander’s will leave their cars at home! I wonder if there’s an opposite downward trend in car ownership rates yet?
Any thoughts on why the last 3 years show spike’s in the March patronage? (Fig 2)
Yeah….anyone that isn’t taking these figures seriously will do so at their peril……this just simply must be an election issue…..I know there isnt money about at the moment…but it would be nice to see an acknowledgement from the powers that be, that when the money is there it wont be put off…..
Carl H - I don’t know about car ownership but it does correspond to a drop in vehicle use. In Auckland it dropped 0.9% and has been dropping for a while.
http://transportblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/march2011-shtraffic.jpg
Also March is always the highest now as that is also when students go back to uni (before they start skipping classes
)
Don’t think this will register with the govt, they only count patronage up to 2006.
Carl H, yip Matt L is right, that has a big effect.
also:
- march is 31 days long, makes for a 3% increase in figures over a 30 day month.
- No Uni holidays in march.
- Typically no School holidays in march.
- Typically warm weather and late dusk make walking to and from PT nicer and safer than in winter.
- Less rainy days that encourage students to skip lectures and workers to drive.
- Ferrys still have a lot of local tourists, i.e. Island day trips which are less popular in winter.
Good call @ Nick.
The Onehunga figures look impressive. Are there over crowding problems on that line?
@Kurt It’s very busy at peak times in the morning and very steady during the day from what I have seen and heard. But it thins out sometimes at Penrose.