Public transport drops two million

PUBLIC transport patronage in the southeast has plummeted with two million less passengers travelling than last year.

TransLink yesterday released their delayed June quarterly report revealing there were just 44.4 million trips between April and June this year compared with 46.4 million in 2016.

TransLink attributed the dip in trips to Easter, but the 2016 report reveals no drop over Easter. The report takes in the height of the Rail Fail, which saw almost 400,000 fewer people commute by train.

Customer complaints also remained high, with almost two in every 10,000 passengers lodging an official complaint.

On-time performance remained below the 95 per cent benchmark at 94 per cent.

The Opposition seized on the report saying the Rail Fail had forced an extra 30,000 commuters to drive to work.

“Commuters aren’t even sure if their train will turn up. No wonder they are getting back into their cars,” transport spokesman Scott Emerson said.

Transport Minister Jackie Trad did not return calls.