Lighter load on the roads

Though transport operators were expecting a big bump in numbers yesterday, as schools reopened under alert level 2 and workers were allowed back into the office, commuter loads remained light.

‘‘As it turned out, passenger loadings and traffic volumes were lighter than on non-Covid-19 days, perhaps by 20 per cent, resulting in lower passenger loads and easy traffic flows in Wellington,’’ Metlink spokesman Stephen Heath said.

Wairarapa Line train commuter Richard Mayes was surprised to see the platform at Featherston Station almost empty yesterday morning.

‘‘It was massively different. In the old times, there would have been a huge crowd on the platform and the last few people that would get on would struggle to find a seat.’’

Sam Rossiter-Stead, a senior manager at Wellington City Council, said the commute into the city by car from his Greytown home was an ‘‘easy, easy run’’.

A trip that would sometimes take an hour and 40 minutes took him about 70 minutes yesterday.

His workplace, like many others, had adapted well to lockdown requirements and it was accelerating previous initiatives to have staff working more flexibly.

‘‘A lot of people were anxious about it but most have found it easy.’’

Under level 2, buses were able to carry 40 per cent of the usual seated load, an increase from 20 per cent under alert level 3, and were free until the end of June.

Standing on buses, trains or ferries was not allowed, and some seats were marked off-limits to aid physical distancing.

Heath said traffic levels around Wellington were looking quieter than normal, which suggested to him that people were still choosing to work from home, or keep kids away from school.

Metlink ‘‘ambassadors’’ were on platforms and on buses giving information and advice about staying safe and physical distancing.

This was a tactic used two years ago when the bus networks changed, Heath said.

People were effectively having to relearn how to navigate the network, and ambassadors were able to smooth that transition.

‘‘It’s all running rather well,’’ Heath said.