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Transport VKT Total
Are fuel prices changing the way we travel?
Transport fuel prices have been rising over the past few years. In mid-2008, fuel prices reached unprecedented levels, peaking in July with regular petrol reaching $2.18 a litre.
Has this led to a change in the way New Zealanders travel?
Vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) data for 2008 shows that there was a drop in the total distance travelled in 2008. This, combined with changes in public transport use and reported reductions in traffic volumes suggests the answer is ‘yes’.
Significant increases have been observed in public transport use in the main centres during 2008:
- In Auckland, average rail patronage for the 12 months to July 2008 increased by 20 per cent. Train passenger numbers in July 2008 were 32 per cent higher than in July 2007.
- Average boardings for Auckland buses increased by 3.5 per cent in the 12 months to July 2008. The opening of the Northern Busway in February 2008 encouraged significant numbers to switch to public transport. It is estimated that this service was largely responsible for a 6 per cent drop in traffic on the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 2008.
- Train patronage in Wellington increased by 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to June 2008, with a corresponding growth of 0.7 per cent in bus patronage.
- Bus patronage also increased in Dunedin, reducing the number of cars on the roads. Traffic counts dropped between 4 and 11 per cent at major intersections in the city from March to June compared to the same period in 2007.
- This trend was echoed throughout the country – national traffic volumes were down by 7.5 per cent in August 2008 compared with the previous year.
Public transport trends in the main centres are indicative of what is happening around the rest of the country. Nationally, there was a 4 per cent growth in public transport boardings for the year to June 2008 compared with the previous year.
While the link between fuel prices and total public transport boardings over the past seven years seems weak, uptake of public transport is influenced by a number of factors, including convenience, capacity, reliability and the relative cost of public versus private transport. Fuel price rises may also cause shifts to other forms of transport, such as cycling and walking.
Total public transport boardings and regular petrol prices in New Zealand, 2001–2008
Notes:
(1) Petrol prices are annual average prices based on the calendar year. The average for 2008 includes prices up to 14 November.
(2) Public transport boardings include bus, train and ferry totals, and are based on a year from July to June.
Data sources: Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Transport.
Fuel price increases also affect New Zealanders’ vehicle choices. A 2007 report found that an early response to increasing prices was to reduce fuel consumption by shifting to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. In the first three quarters of 2008, the fuel efficiency of vehicles being registered in New Zealand improved slightly for both new and imported vehicles for the first time. This was accompanied by an increase in the sale of New Zealand-new small and light vehicles, and a corresponding drop in large vehicle sales. New sports utility vehicle sales also dropped by 10 per cent in 2008, after increasing by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2007.
Between July and November 2008, however, transport fuel prices dropped significantly. The price of regular petrol fell by a third, to $1.45 a litre – its lowest level for the year. As a result, an immediate upswing in traffic volumes was observed throughout New Zealand, with national traffic figures for October 2008 only 1.6 per cent below figures for October 2007.
This information has come from the environmental report card on vehicle kilometres travelled by road.
Return to total VKT page.
Last updated: March 2009
