Most peak time city commuters shun car: study

Photo / Sarah Ivey

Fewer than half of about 71,100 commuters who travelled to downtown Auckland during a survey in March did so in cars or other private vehicles.

The survey was taken for the Auckland Regional Council during the two-hour peak period from 7am on Tuesday, March 30, and counted 31,347 public transport passengers - representing 44.1 per cent of commuters.

They were joined in the central business district by 4476 walkers and 836 cyclists, representing 7.5 per cent of commuters between them. That left just 48.4 per cent arriving in private vehicles as drivers or passengers.

Even so, the number of bus, train and ferry passengers was 3.3 per cent lower than the 32,425 who used public transport a year earlier, although authors of a regional council report believe that finding is of limited use.

Because the survey was undertaken on a single morning, it did not record day-to-day fluctuations, so they say annual comparisons could be misleading. But they consider that the survey and its predecessors, which began on an annual basis 24 years ago, are useful in showing long-term trends.

The survey series shows public transport patronage declining by 44 per cent between 1986 and 1994 - from 24,430 down to 13,625 passengers - before increasing by 130 per cent over the following 16 years.

The earlier decline was blamed on reduced employment in the CBD after the 1987 stockmarket crash.

Despite continuing annual increases in rail patronage, 4918 train passengers counted arriving at Britomart between 7am and 9am on March 30 were 2 per cent fewer than last year.

The council report said that, given the nature of the survey, the reduction was not considered significant, and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority reported patronage growth outside the peak period.

Buses brought 23,180 passengers into downtown Auckland, a 4 per cent decline from last year, and ferries were down 0.5 per cent after carrying 3249 people. But 4476 people seen walking to the city represented a 9.1 per cent boost in the two years from 2008, and there were 836 cyclists - up 24 per cent.

On the move

Number of morning peak commuters to Auckland CBD:

* Car drivers, passengers: 34,386

* Bus passengers: 23,180

* Train passengers: 4918

* Pedestrians: 4476

* Ferry passengers: 3249

* Cyclists: 836

* Total: 71,045