Bus patronage dip threatens some services

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Dwindling foreign student numbers and extra trains have reduced passenger loads on Auckland buses, casting doubt on the future of some services.

An Auckland Regional Council survey of public transport passengers arriving in the central business district in the morning peak found a 5.5 per cent slump in bus patronage since last year, but more train and ferry use.

The fall follows a decade of growth in which daily numbers using buses to travel to central Auckland between 7am and 9am almost doubled, from about 12,000 in 1994 to 23,625 last year.

This year's figure of 22,337 still accounted for 81.9 per cent of public transport passengers, but was down from 85.6 per cent last year.

Train patronage leapt 83.6 per cent from a far smaller base, from 1012 to 1858 passengers, and ferry custom grew 5.6 per cent, from 2900 to 3063.

Passenger numbers across the three public transport modes edged up just 0.5 per cent overall - to 27,258 - with ferries accounting for 11.2 per cent and rail for 6.8 per cent.

Although the council says poor weather on the day of the survey late in April may have skewed the results, bus operators confirm a general reduction in patronage that has forced them to notify the council of plans to withdraw some services.

The council is not identifying where these are until it has a chance to consider keeping some services running with subsidies from ratepayers and the state funding agency Transfund.

But Stagecoach bus spokesman Russell Turnbull said yesterday that a downturn in foreign student numbers that began early last year with the Sars epidemic mostly hit outer routes, as those students still attending classes moved to more central accommodation vacated by others.

There are still about 80,000 foreign fee-paying students in New Zealand, of whom almost half are from China, but Tourism Auckland is concerned about a 50 per cent drop in new student visa applications from that country.

Mr Turnbull said it was no secret that extra train services had also eaten into bus patronage in some areas, notably Papakura.

Despite the setback, Mr Turnbull said the number of bus services under threat remained less than 1 per cent of the approximately 5000 run by his company.

Auckland Regional Council passenger transport chairwoman Catherine Harland admitted concern about the patronage drop, but said this followed years of substantial growth that the council and its partners would work hard to maintain long-term.

"If it can be sustained at these higher levels it will be good, but it needs to improve to really get Auckland's public transport working," she said.

This called for continued investments in transport infrastructure and innovations such as integrated ticketing for buses, ferries and trains, rather than the more limited schemes already in place.

Public transport accounted for just 5 per cent of an estimated 921 million passenger trips in Greater Auckland in 2001, and the region's land transport strategy warns that the use of cars will double in 20 years if present trends continue.

The number of cars in the region was about 630,000 in 2001, or an average of 1.66 per household, up from 1.47 in 1991.

An estimated 35 vehicles are added to Auckland's fleet each day, as the population grows by about 49 people.

The latest public transport figures prompted a call from the leader of a rebellion against ARC rate rises, David Thornton, to review investments in rail at the expense of buses.

He said rail, for all the millions of dollars it was costing regional ratepayers, was simply attracting passengers who previously travelled by bus.

"That has had no effect on the number of cars on the road in the morning peak, and consequently no effect on traffic congestion."

Modes of transport

Public transport accounted for 46 million - or 5 per cent - of 921 million passenger trips in the Auckland region in 2001.

Of public transport passengers arriving in central Auckland between 7am and 9am last April 27:

* 81.9 per cent came by bus (down from 85.6 per cent a year ago).

* 11.2 per cent came by ferry (up from 10.7 per cent).

* 6.8 per cent came by train (up from 3.7 per cent).