KEY POINTS:
The soaring price of petrol seems to be changing Aucklanders' commuting habits.
And new figures show public transport use at record highs.
An Auckland Regional Council Transport Patronage Survey shows the level of public transport use this year is the highest since records began in 1986.
The one-day, snapshot survey - which records numbers of public transport users on April 1 each year - shows overall public transport use up 9.4 per cent from last year.
Commuter rail leads the way. More than 5700 passengers took trains on survey day - up 34.8 per cent from last year.
Bus passenger numbers rose 7.3 per cent to reached 23,134 on the day.
ARC experts put the increase in bus numbers down mainly to the February opening of the North Shore bus expressway. Only Auckland ferry services had a downturn in numbers, dropping by 8.7 per cent. This has been attributed to last year being a record year for ferry use.
NZ Bus Northland region general manager Warren Fowler, said petrol price increases were a major contributing factor to the increase in public transport numbers.
"It is inevitable that as petrol prices continue to climb people will start to make smart choices with their disposable income."
Automobile Association figures show petrol prices have risen 37 per cent in the past year. That meant Kiwis were paying around $614 more than last year to travel an average 14,000 kilometres in a petrol-run car.
But AA spokesman Mike Noon said though the increases were due mainly to increasing petrol prices, it would take a "significant" drop in pump prices to get commuters back in their cars.
"If public transport meets people's needs and expectations, they may not wish to revert.
"There is a definite opportunity for public transport to convert new users into long time users by demonstrating that it can provide a timely, safe, cost-effective service."
A recent Transit New Zealand report showing average Auckland traffic numbers also highlighted a decrease in private transport from last year.
Figures for the St Mary's Bay section of State Highway 1 showed 7970 fewer cars a day last month than in June 2007.
ARC transport committee chairwoman Christine Rose is optimistic that these figures will grow.
"Based on continuing investment in public transport and the response to improvements so far, trends should continue.
"We encourage commuters to support these investments as a cost-effective alternative to congestion and spiralling fuel costs."
She said that based on continuing investment in public transport - and the response to improvements - such trends should continue.
