Auckland Transport is excited – patronage of public transport is up by about 20 per cent since the half-price fares kicked in on April 1, and new patterns of use by commuters may be starting to emerge.
The fares were cut in half for three months by the government to help offset the effects of the $3-a-litre petrol costs stemming from the Ukraine war and other factors – and Richard Harrison, AT's Manager Metro Operations, says there has been an encouraging lift in people using public transport.
"Three weeks ago, we were seeing only about 36 per cent patronage across the network. Now, including the period after the fares were halved, we are seeing patronage reach 40-45 per cent."
That's a percentage rise of about 20 per cent – about the same as Dunedin and Queenstown reported in traveler numbers after the first week of the cuts, according to reports from there.
"I think the half-price measure is a great offer," says Harrison, who says it will gather pace as more companies, offices and other institutions "get back to normal".
"We're still being affected by the pandemic but, as people start to travel more, the three months period will give them a chance to use public transport more. We are starting to see things changing now – universities are welcoming students back, more offices are opening and being populated by more people.
"I think many companies might be using the time immediately after Easter as the time when things get more back to normal. There will be a lot of hybrid working but I am hoping that will also drive patronage," says Harrison.
That's because if a worker is only going into the office two to three days a week, they might be keener to take public transport: "It could create new habits," says Harrison. "If you are only going into the office a couple of days a week, then you might think it's worthwhile to avoid paying the fuel, expensive parking and the wear and tear on your car.
"There may be also be more people who haven't considered using public transport before but now see it as a more affordable option."
AT is also paying close attention to see if there any changing patterns in public transport use, like passenger numbers beginning to flatten out across the day, rather than the traditi9onal peak periods of morning and evening.
"I work from home a little too and I have definitely taken advantage of the lighter loads on the bus later in the day," he says. "I have a couple of meetings first thing in the morning and then travel in later in the morning when the buses are not so busy.
"We are hoping people will change their habits like that, especially with hybrid working," he says, "and there are some small signs of that happening now. We are keeping a very close eye on the network to watch out for things like that."
Another key concern is safety and travelling on buses and trains with lower occupancy means less risk.
"We recognise people are concerned and we have occupancy rates on our app, so people can decide if they would rather travel on a vehicle with fewer people. Masks are still required, of course, and we have spoken to public health authorities and they assure us that public transport is low risk.
"They say public transport is a low-risk setting because of the strong safety measures in place, even during the Omicron outbreak. Wearing masks is pretty well universal on our services and we also maintain regular and thorough cleaning of all our services."
The cuts will save passengers an estimated $10 million on bus, train and ferry fares over three months.
As well as covering individual trips, the discount covers all AT HOP monthly passes and concessions, and halves the current daily cap from $20, meaning Aucklanders will never pay more than $10 for a day's travel on the AT Metro network. Total Mobility and AT Local are included in the initiative though some ferries are not.
For more information: at.govt.nz/halfpricefares