53% Used PT For Bledisloe

in Auckland General RWC 2011 by Jon C — August 18, 2011 at 3:13 pm | 0 comments

Auckland Transport has revealed that arecord 53% of the Bledisloe Cup crowd travelled home from the match at Eden Park by public transport.

In their analysis of the final figures, of the 52,182 who attended the match, 23,735 (45%) used public transport to get there and 27,919 (53%) to get home, higher than estimates on the night. The large public transport use compares to 25% catching trains and special event buses for the Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park just two years ago.

Auckland Transport Spokesman Wally Thomas says one of the biggest rugby crowds in recent history also made for the biggest numbers using public transport for an event.

“We were pleased that most of the crowd listened to the message to travel early. This will be even more important during Rugby World Cup 2011 matches in helping manage the large crowds using public transport.

After some criticism that people had to queue at Kingsland afterwards for the game, Wally THomas said that with such huge crowds leaving in a short period they can’t all be moved immediately.
“The number of people getting on a train at Kingsland after a match is more than those who catch a train from Britomart in a whole day.”

He said the aim is to clear crowds within 70 minutes after a match, which was achieved for the Bledisloe Cup.

“It’s going to be very busy during RWC 2011, so we’re asking people to be patient and enjoy the whole occasion to make it a success off the field as well as on it.”

The aftermatch delays were made worse by a train broken down at Morningside.