KEY POINTS:
Aucklanders are going back to their cars after a two-month fling with saving fuel.
After taking a breather in July and August, motorists are taking advantage of cheaper petrol and getting back on the motorways.
All six major motorway sites watched by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) got busier in September. And while there was less traffic than at the same time last year, NZTA's car count showed the gap was closing.
In August, an average of 134,680 cars passed St Mary's Bay each day - 10,000 fewer than a year earlier.
By September, there were about 138,000 cars a day, only 4000 behind the figure for September 2007.
At Gillies Ave, traffic increased from 8000 fewer cars a day compared with last year in August to just 800 fewer in September.
The AA said spring weather and cheaper petrol - which has fallen 70c from a high of $2.19/litre in early July - were getting people back in their cars. But while cheaper fuel encouraged car trips, it did not pull commuters off buses and trains.
September figures from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) showed Aucklanders made 16 per cent more trips on public transport than in September last year. Ferries were the only public transport that became less popular - passenger trips fell 3.5 per cent after fares to Waiheke, Devonport and Stanley Bay rose.
ARTA spokeswoman Sharon Hunter said people were combining using public transport on weekdays with car trips for journeys - like weekend sports trips - that were difficult to make without a car.
AA Motoring Affairs Manager Mike Noon said people had cut non-essential car journeys when petrol was at its most expensive. Now they were making up for the trips they had missed. "People are more out and about as spring comes in," he said. "Anecdotally ... the traffic is back."
Petrol is at its cheapest price since May last year. According to the AA, it is now $42 cheaper to fill a 60-litre car than it was in July.
As prices have fallen, petrol sales have lifted from a mid-year slump. Figures from the AA show petrol sales recovered from being 12 per cent lower in August than a year earlier to 5.2 per cent lower in September.
At the same time, ARTA figures show people made 27 per cent more rail journeys than in September last year. Bus journeys rose 17 per cent. People living in West Auckland or the North Shore were particularly keen public transport users. For the second month in a row, the biggest rises in patronage were on the improved Northern Express bus route across the harbour bridge (where passengers made twice as many trips than a year earlier), and the west Auckland rail line (where passengers made a third more trips than a year earlier).
There was some good news for car commuters. Latest NZTA figures for the Harbour bridge show last month's traffic was still 7 per cent lighter than October last year.
Back in traffic:
Cars passing St Mary's Bay daily:
*August: 10,000 fewer than last year.
*September: 4000 fewer than last year.
