24 Sep 2009

Public transport use rises in main centres

8:47 am on 24 September 2009

More people are travelling on public transport in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Latest figures show more than five million additional journeys were taken in the three centres over the last financial year.

Patronage on buses, trains and ferries rose by 7.7% percent in Auckland, 2.1% percent in Wellington and 4% in Christchurch.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority spokesperson Mark Lambert says Auckland's growth is the result of investment in more services.

The 58.6 million journeys in the region over the past year is the highest use of public transport in Auckland since the mid-1980s, he says.