RWC Topples Patronage Records

in Auckland Bus Featured Top Debate Trains by AKT — November 23, 2011 at 2:46 pm | 6 comments

As expected, RWC inflated the figures for Auckland public transport in October creating records and big increases.

It took the annual figure to a near 10% increase. Auckland public transport patronage totalled 68,590,762 passengers for the 12-months to Oct 2011 an increase of 6,033,457 boardings or +9.6%.

For the financial year-to-date, four months to Oct 2011, patronage has grown by +12.8% (2,827,107 boardings). Patronage for Oct 2011 was 6,355,121 boardings, an increase of +16.7% (908,606 boardings) on Oct 2010

• October monthly patronage was 6,355,121 an increase of 908,606 boardings or +16.7% on October 2010

•  Rail monthly patronage for October is 1,211,967 an increase of 431,702 boardings or +55.3% on Oct 2010, the largest monthly increase on record with a record +85.2% growth on the Western Line compared to October 2010.
• Northern Express bus service carried 2,208,393 passenger trips for the 12-months with a growth in Oct 2011 compared to Oct 2010 of +31.9%.

•  Special event bus and rail services were provided to all Eden Park matches with integratedmatch event and transport ticketing.  No significant operational issues occurred.

•  An average 38% of the match attendance at the seven RWC2011 Eden Park were moved by public transport prior to the event and an average 44% post event.  The largest volume of match attendees moves by public transport was post match from Eden Park after the Final between New Zealand and France on Sunday 23 October where 28,180 people used special event public transport and were cleared from Eden Park within 60-75 minutes.

On individual lines and transport modes:
Southern and Eastern Line rail patronage including the Onehunga Line totalled 6,800,346passengers for the 12-months to October an increase of 965,844 boardings or +16.6% on the same period last year. Patronage for October was 702,520 boardings, an increase of +39.1% (197,295 boardings) on October 2010.
There were 80,375 passengers recorded using the Onehunga Line during October compared to 49,277 for the same month last year which was the first full month of operations on the line. For the 12-months to October 2011 there have been 717,977 passengers recorded on Onehunga Line services. Surveys indicate that 60% of patronage on Onehunga trains is wholly on the Southern Line (between Britomart and Penrose).

Western Line rail patronage totalled 4,010,915 passengers for the 12-months to October an increase of 963,005 boardings or +31.6%. Patronage for October was 509,447 boardings, an increase of +85.2% (234,407 boardings) on October 2010 a result driven primarily (although not wholly) by the additional special event trains operating to RWC2011 games at Eden Park during the month. For the year-to-date there have been 1,670,601 passengers recorded on Western Line services 497,423 (42.4%) more than for the same four months last year.

The Northern Busway along with the rail network forms the Rapid Transit Network. Northern Express patronage totalled 2,208,393 passengers for the 12-months to Oct 2011 an increase of 325,441 boardings or +17.3%. For the financial year-to-date, four months to Oct patronage has grown by +21.9% (151,503 boardings). Patronage for Oct was 225,830 boardings, an increase of +31.9% (54,563 boardings) on Oct 2010.

Other bus patronage totalled 50,536,427 passengers for the 12-months to Oct an increase of 3,294,481 boardings or +7.0%. For the financial year-to-date, four months to Oct, patronage has grown by +8.6% (1,429,983 boardings). Patronage for Oct was 4,407,247 boardings, an increase of +7.4% (303,134 boardings) on Oct 2010.

Ferry patronage totalled 5,034,681 passengers for the 12-months to Oct an increase of 484,662 boardings or +10.7%. For the financial year-to-date, four months to Oct patronage has grown by +21.5% (298,964 boardings). Patronage for Oct was 510,077 boardings, an increase of +30.5% (119,207 boardings) on Oct 2010.

Rail performance: 98.1% of all scheduled rail services arrived at their final destination and 84.2% were on time or arrived within 5 minutes of schedule.

Performance on the Western was 84.1% and on the Southern 83.8% - but only 77.7% on the Eastern. Onehunga was as usual the best on 97.5%

Veolia’s explanation this month is:

• There were two major infrastructure issues which affected the network in October. A monitoring device which required repair at Otahuhu on Monday 10 October and a signal fault at Ellerslie on Sunday 18 October led to delays for 45 services and overall seven train services were cancelled.

• Three mechanical issues had a significant impact on train services in October. These faults occurred on Sunday 4 October at Puhinui station on Thursday 22 October on Western line and at Westfield station on Tuesday 27 October. A total of 52 services were affected including six service cancellations.

• A freight train struck a bridge between Papakura and Pukekohe on Wednesday 19 October which affected 11 services, and meant eight services were cancelled.

• Increased passenger loadings as a result of RWC events across the region also had an impact on performance during the month.

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