NZ Bus Patronage
15 July 2008NZ Bus has seen an increase in year-on-year patronage as more Aucklanders and Wellingtonians recognise and utilise the benefits of the cost effective public transport system available to them. The reasons for increased patronage are attributed to a number of factors and vary from route to route.
“We have seen significant growth in the number of customers using the Mt Eden service” says Bruce Emson, CEO. “As a result of increasing service and providing more buses more often, we have seen an increase in patronage of approximately 17%.”
“Community events also impact patronage. An example of this is that a number of our Orakei routes have seen increases in the vicinity of 20%, largely as a result of people travelling to and from the Sylvia Park retail complex” says Mr Emson. Traffic infrastructure improvement has driven other increases – for example, the installation of the Northern Expressway has driven increases of up to 60% on some express services.
In Wellington, there has been noticeable growth on the Seatoun express service (11%) and the Wainuiomata-Wellington commuter service (33%), which has recently had extra capacity added. Improvements to the Airport Flyer service have also increased patronage on that route by 15%.
“Naturally, travelling during peak times you can expect a degree of congestion” says Mr Emson. “What we are seeing is that passengers who have flexibility in their schedule are making decisions to travel off-peak.”
“It is inevitable that as petrol prices continue to climb that people will start to make smart choices with their disposable income. Catching the bus is clearly one of those.”
| Auckland patronage | June 2008 | June 2007 |
| Passengers | 2,751,267 | 2,541,107 |
| Adjusted for comparable days | 2,718,487 | 2,541.107 |
| Percentage increase | 7.0% | |
| Average passengers per day | 90,616 | 84,704 |
| Bus load equivalents per day | 1,510 | 1,412 |
| Wellington patronage | June 2008 | June 2007 |
| Passengers | 1,615,571 | 1,530,027 |
| Adjusted for comparable days | 1,592,926 | 1,530.027 |
| Percentage increase | 4.1% | |
| Average passengers per day | 53,098 | 51,001 |
| Bus load equivalents per day | 885 | 850 |
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