Public transport pitfalls on display

At the first Transport and Infrastructure committee of the term on December 1, Auckland Transport (AT) presented a first quarter report about public transport.

The report showed a slight recovery in public transport use but that it is still tracking at 67 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

Bus driver shortages and rail infrastructure constraints were expected to continue causing disruptions as AT looks towards attracting patrons back to public transport. 

Chief executive Mark Lambert said Aucklanders were less city centre focused which reduced public transport trips.

“Travel behaviour across Auckland and across the world has changed. There is now a recognised increase in working from home and increase in localised trips,” Lambert said. 

“There are now three times more people working from home than before Covid, which has fundamental consequences. It means that people are travelling differently.” 

He said AT needed to avoid reducing services any further, in order to avoid a downward spiral of patrons. 

“If we reduce services, that will lower customer amenity, it will lower customer service, it will lower patronage and it will lower fare income even more which will result in a greater funding gap and we will be faced with probably even more service cuts.” 

Cr Julie Fairey said she was disappointed with the high number of cancellations particularly from businesses like NZ Bus.

Metro Services group manager Darek Koper said NZ Bus is in a particularly difficult position with staffing but that the company had recently employed 17 new staff from overseas. 

“In some cases, people are working basically the maximum allowed hours under the transport regulations, which is up to 70 hours per week, before they have to have their two days off,” Koper said. 

At the AT board meeting earlier in the day acting chair Wayne Donnelly said the thing that kept him awake at night was the safety of AT’s bus drivers and frontline staff. 

“By a country mile, the greatest safety risk is abuse and violence against the frontline staff,” Donnelly said.