Public transport loses
Aaron Musgrove’s 64 Ford Thunderbird is a rarity but he is part of the majority – he hasn’t commuted on public transport in years.
New data out from the Ministry of Transport shows that, like Musgrove, 63 per cent of Kiwis haven’t even stepped foot on public transport in the past year. Just 17 per cent of us used it in the past 19 days.
But in Wellington, where confidence in public transport took a beating in 2018 thanks to Greater Wellington Regional Council’s overhaul of the bus system, the capital has, by far, the best public transport users in New Zealand.
Musgrove, wasn’t one of them. That is unless you count last January, when he caught a train to the Wellington Cup.
The last time he was a regular user of public transport was as a school boy, before he got his driver’s licence.
These days it makes no sense. Working at Gazley Motor Group on Cambridge Tce he can take his pick of cars from the showroom floor each night.
At home, his weekend car is a 1964 Thunderbird. His wife has another classic – a Mazda RX-7.
If he was to use public transport, it would mean a walk to the train station in Naenae, Lower Hutt, a wait for a train, another wait, then a bus through town.
‘‘I would be better to sit in traffic for 45 minutes a day.’’
The Ministry of Transport
Household Travel Survey showed that more than seven in every 10 people 15 years or older across Wellington, Hutt Valley, Ka¯piti and Porirua had used public transport in the past year.
The regional council was given the chance to crow about the figures.
‘‘We don’t have anything to add, I think the facts speak for themselves,’’ a spokesman said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, just 14 per cent of rural folk had managed to use public transport hardly surprising as there are fewer options.
It is the comparison to other cities where Wellington shines as a public transport beacon.
Car-mad Auckland defies its reputation by coming in at second place with just under half of the city’s people dodging public transport for the year, while Christchurch had an abysmal 67 per cent.
But, as with all things in Christchurch in recent times, any figures from the garden city have to be weighed against the backdrop of the devastation of the 2011 earthquake.
Matt Lowrie, of transport blog Greater Auckland, said Auckland’s rising public transport use would eclipse the capital’s within the next 10 years.
‘‘At current rates, we will have more trips per capita than Wellington in the next decade.’’
Better services on electrified trains, busways and cycleways have all contributed to a great number of public transport users in Auckland.
The Ministry of Transport also showed 83 per cent of our travel times was in a car or van – either as a passenger or driver – while just 10 per cent was as pedestrians.
Children and teenagers were the best walkers while those aged 35 to 54 were the worst.
People, on average, spent a little under an hour a day getting from A to B.
Ownership rates for light vehicles, which encompasses most household cars, started increasing in 2012 – after dropping between 2007 and 2011 – and have been increasing ever since.
The latest available Transport Ministry data shows light vehicle ownership rates were at their highest ever level in 2017, with just under 800 vehicles for every 1000 Kiwis.
AUCKLAND
Lowrie said the country’s largest city had seen a surge in public transport use as infrastructure improved.
‘‘Where good quality infrastructure has been provided, we are seeing really good usage occurring in Auckland.
‘‘That’s really the story, when we give people good options, people will use them.’’
Half of the people working in the city centre each morning were not using cars, he said. ‘‘They’re on public transport, they’re walking, they’re cycling.’’
Though public transport use is changing, cars will remain most popular city wide.
‘‘Car use will remain predominant for most people getting around Auckland . . . but that is changing, as our public network transport networks continue to improve.’’
WELLINGTON
Te Horo, Ka¯piti Coast, resident Ian McIntosh has taken public transport once in the past 12 months, and that was for his work Christmas party.
‘‘I don’t think there’s anything particularly laudable about public transport; people do value their independence and convenience.
‘‘It’s got a number of failings: it’s not point-to-point, it’s not private, it’s not comfortable, and it can be unreliable – although I do believe [Metlink] with the new trains are a lot better.’’
But, tired of spending more than an hour in the increasingly ‘‘diabolical’’ traffic of State Highway 1, he may switch allegiances and instead take the park-andride train and walk into work each day.
‘‘I can’t see it coming right, even with Transmission Gully. I’m not an expert but my view is it’s just going to move cars faster to the choke point.’’
CHRISTCHURCH
Christchurch man Martin Exon said driving was simply the most convenient option.
Parking was ‘‘pretty good’’, accessible and relatively inexpensive so there was not any major incentive to stray away from the car, he said.
Yesterday, he and daughter Daisy Exon drove from their home in Fendalton to Colombo St, then back into the CBD.
Even if a free bus was available, it was unlikely they would have used it because it would have taken too long.
‘‘It’s hard to keep getting on and off, especially when it’s such a short journey . . . Coming from London, a lot of the buses all link up and you can get around quite easily and use the Tube . . . here, it’s quite time-consuming.’’
The Christchurch bus network worked well but the problem might be that the South Island city was too small to bother using it.
Daisy occasionally bused to Sumner to visit friends which ‘‘worked well’’.
Lime scooters offered a more accessible option for her over shorter distances and the family occasionally used bikes.