New Zealand’s largest city – Auckland – is sending signals that show that the tide in turning against use of cars for commute.
According to the latest figures released by Auckland Transport, Aucklanders took 7.3 million trips in public transport in March – an increase of 4% in the number of people using public transport compared to March last year.
The year to March also saw strong growth with just over 71 million trips.
Rail continues to be the star performing with more than 11 million trips in the year to March, up 14% on an annual basis.
The jump in rail numbers reflects the improved on-time performance, integrated ticketing and the renewed interest in rail with the introduction of the electric trains, says Auckland Transport Group Manager, Public Transport Mark Lambert.
“March saw a record number of people using Auckland’s train services.â€
The first electric trains started yesterday on the Onehunga line.
The Northern Express bus service also had a record month in March, up 6% for the year.
Other bus services carried 52 million passengers in the year to March, an annual increase of 3%.
Meanwhile, there was an increase of 9% in cycling in March compared to March 2013. The morning peak saw a rise of 20%.
Leave a Reply