More passengers through Britomart than airport

1 April 2011

About 25,000 rail passengers go through Britomart Station every weekday, more than the numbers at Auckland’s domestic airport.

Auckland Transport’s last passenger survey at Britomart in May counted 21,000 and with recent increases in rail patronage, that is now estimated to be 25,000. This compares to 14,000 domestic travellers a day through Auckland Airport.

Approximately another 13,000 use the downtown ferry terminal close to Britomart each day.

Earlier this week the number of rail passengers reached one million for the month of March. This compares to annual patronage of 2.5 million when Britomart opened in 2003.

Auckland Transport board member Christine Fletcher approved the decision to build Britomart when Mayor of Auckland City.

Cr Fletcher says she always saw opening Britomart as being the key to unlocking the public’s acceptance and use of public transport.

“Incorporating the heritage of the Central Post Office was a key element because it helped create a world class public space as a base for a transport interchange.

“I’m not surprised at the high numbers going through Britomart because I thought it was going to be the catalyst for huge support for public transport if we gave people a good experience.

“This puts even more importance on the next stage which is the CBD Rail Link. It shows that if you open it the people will come,” Cr Fletcher says.

If the CBD Rail Link is built it is expected to double patronage beyond what would be normally expected. This would happen as a result of making Britomart a through station and unlocking its current capacity constraints.

Auckland Transport released figures this week showing total public transport patronage for the past year to February reached 64 million, an increase of 8.3 per cent.