UK Study Backs ARTA Plans For Public Transport
November 27th, 2008
A new study into UK transport has backed the more centralised transport management model the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) is implementing in Auckland under powers granted by the Public Transport Management Act. The study, written by the Centre for Cities think tank, compares Birmingham’s public transport with London’s. It says 10 years ago the average West Midlands resident made 37 bus journeys a year but this has now fallen to 32, down 12.5%. By contrast, the number of journeys in London rose from 132 per person to 276. The study attributed a general decline in UK urban bus patronage to the often unco-ordinated and fragmented provision of bus travel outside London.
Integration Goal. ARTA’s current activities to address a significant fall-off in bus patronage prior to this year’s major petrol price hikes, parallel the findings of the Centre for Cities report. ARTA’s goal is a connected and integrated public transport network in Auckland, with the introduction across all bus, rail and ferry services and operators of integrated electronic ticketing, integrated fares co-ordinated timetables and transport interchanges. ARTA has also been pushing for service contracting changes to ensure integration and minimum quality standards across all transport operators.
Partnership Sought. Mark Lambert, GM Customer Services, believes a true public-private partnership can result through service contracting, creating opportunities for private business – the private sector delivers public transport services while ARTA ensures whole of network public transport use grows through multi-modal integration. Incentivised contracts will ensure operators are rewarded for carrying more passengers. Long-term contracts will permit investment by the private sector.
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