In the past two decades, regional public transport patronage of Auckland’s rapid transit network (RTN), which includes rail, busways, and ferries, has gone from one of the lowest per capita rates in the developed world to levels starting to compete with major, international cities.

However, post Covid, when passenger numbers tumbled, Auckland Transport needed a plan to restore and improve growth in Auckland RTN patronage, and to address the pressing, longer-term need for improved public transport provision in order to drive productivity, reduce congestion, and assist housing development, by addressing a clear deficiency in the first leg and final stages of customer journeys.

Recently, Louise Baker and Stuart McDougall joined a team of consultants that completed a First and Final Leg (FFL) Single Stage Business Case (SSBC) for Auckland Transport, to provide them with guidance on ways that they might achieve that. Drawing on international best practice and the experience of international experts, the project took an innovative, new to NZ, approach, proposing a series of improvements to travellers’ journeys to and from stations, which, while mostly minor, are expected to cumulatively improve the complete trip. It took a ‘whole of system’ approach, planning improvements to physical and human infrastructure, and developed a novel approach to economics, accumulating minor benefits to generate a significant overall benefit. Once implemented, the FFL programme is expected to grow public transport patronage in a more cost-effective manner than adding new bus, rail or ferry services, offering considerable value for money by making the most of the existing network.

This pioneering project is the first region-wide FFL programme in Aotearoa and is now ready to be rolled out to all 81 of Auckland’s RTN stations over the next ten years.