Who cares about the environment- Aucklanders go back to using their cars

I’ve been trying to work out why trains I use at peak time have been much emptier since the start of the year.

I’ve tried various different times during the morning rush hour but to my surprise still manage to get a seat.

Last year at those times I struggled to even get on the train. Last week was a bit busier but I still easily got the choice of a seat both ways.

I have been assuming -

* We’ve had several long weekends so people have been taking longer holidays or at times later in January to make use of the extra holiday days

* Schools did not start until early February

* Yet to start are AUT (Feb 26)  and Auckland university students (March 2)

* Some workers have lost their job in the recession

Or did passengers get out of the habit when the western line especially ran no trains for a month while construction was in full flight?

But no-one of these really explain why.

It has to be this: Aucklanders stopped using their cars when petrol went crazy last year. Petrol is still high as we know – but there have been significant drops.

So they have said: bugger the environment, trains are a little unreliable so I’ll go back to driving to work which is much more convenient and the parking cost is offset by the cheaper petrol.

What a shame for both the environment and the growth of public transport.

On my Train iPod Today:  Duke Ellington’s classic Take the A Train (listen to it here)

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