Auckland Transport’s (AT) recent announcement of weekend ferry services between Pine Harbour and Downtown becoming a permanent fixture will be a welcome delight for Pohutukawa Coast locals after years of anticipation and hope.
Following a six-week trial of weekend ferry services earlier this year, AT has deemed it successful with patronage showing “sufficient support” for a lasting feature, which will be introduced this summer.
In AT’s report, the average number of passenger journeys per day on normal weekdays were 339 and 262 during the weekend service. In the six-week trial, there were a total number of 5867 passenger trips. Patronage was recorded as growing steadily each week.
In the first weekend, 580 used the service, with the last recording a huge bump of 1331 users. And 86 per cent of passengers who took AT’s survey answered ‘yes’ to the weekend ferry timetable meeting their needs.
The trial, AT says, was important to not only gauge community interest in a weekend service, but also for AT and SeaLink to test the operational viability of the proposed timetable.
A weekend ferry service would allow people from Maraetai, Beachlands and Pine Harbour areas to enjoy a faster, easier and more direct journey to the city centre – an endeavour that the community has been striving for since the region began to grow.
The response from locals at the news has been one of relief and excitement.
There is no current start date for the service.
