“These figures show a rapid uptick in public transport use, above and beyond annual March madness,” said the chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s transport committee, Ros Connelly.
“The fuel crisis is having a clear impact on the cost of living, and using public transport is a great way to save money and reduce fuel use.”
She said it was encouraging to see more people choosing public transport and was confident the usage would remain high going into April.
“While March shows a near record volume of people travelling across our network, Metlink is still under considerable financial pressure to maintain current levels of service.”
Metlink said it is now “reviewing its capacity” and is considering adding more buses to specific high-frequency services.
ransport committee deputy chair Tom James told the Herald that Metlink would be “keeping an eye” on how best to meet passenger demand.
He said they would take a “route-by-route peak-time approach”, noting that popular services like the No 1, 2 and 3 routes were very packed at peak times.
Metlink’s peak hours were between 7 and 9 in the mornings and 3 and 6.30 in the evenings.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays were busier than other days in the week.
“If you have a flexible working arrangement, you may want to consider travelling outside of peak times to secure a seat and discount,” James said.
He said there was still plenty of room on trains and that people could find space to sit on buses during off-peak hours and on weekends.
From April 12, Wellingtonians will be able to use electronic credit and debit card payments to tap on and tap off public transport.
In 2027, the region will transition into using a new national system called Motu Move, which will enable contactless payments and introduce prepaid Motu Move cards.
Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.
