Only 1 per cent of the region's commuters take the bus to work, according to a research project compiled by Bay of Plenty Polytechnic students.
The work, which tapped into data from last year's Census, showed that the vast majority of people drove or rode a motorbike, accounting for 85 per cent of how people aged 15 and over get to work.
The information was part of a "social wellbeing" report prepared by students Logan Hunt and Rebecca Moores for a meeting today of the Bay's major community funding organisations and councils.
It will be used to help funders such as the Acorn Foundation, TECT, Bay Trust and the Geyser Foundation decide where to channel their money in the most effective way. Other topics included health, housing, education, work and the gap between the rich and the poor.
The disclosure that 1.3 per cent of people caught the bus to reach work was in the section of the report entitled "Getting Around". Car passengers and people who walked to work represented more than 10 per cent, with cyclists making up the rest.