Transport trends point to growing mode shift and rising network pressures - Q1 2025/26 snapshot

The latest Transport Network Monitoring Snapshot for Quarter 1 (July–September 2025) offers a valuable look at how people are moving around the district, and what that means for our climate and sustainability goals. With new counters added this year and more comprehensive data across active travel, public transport, and traffic volumes, the picture is becoming clearer: mode shift is happening, but network pressures continue to grow. 

Active travel on the rise 

Active travel continues to strengthen across the district, with new counters helping us build a more complete understanding of how people walk and cycle. 

• 77,523 cycle trips were recorded across all counters 
• 113,376 pedestrian trips were recorded 
• Many established sites show year‑on‑year increases, including Frankton Beach, Aubrey Road, and Lakeside Road 

These numbers reflect a steady shift toward low‑emissions travel and reinforce the importance of investing in safe, connected active travel networks. As more residents choose to walk or cycle, the district moves closer to the emissions‑reduction targets set out in the Climate and Biodiversity Plan 2025–28. 

Public transport: strong patronage and improving reliability 

Public transport continues to perform well, with bus patronage reaching 1.97 million trips in 2024/25; a 4 percent increase from the previous year. Ten out of twelve months set new patronage records. 

Reliability also improved significantly: 

• Average reliability for the year: 89.8% 
• Punctuality surged in Q4, rising from around 38% to 90.8% 

Ferry patronage dipped slightly (down 4 percent), largely due to the end of half‑price fares, but several months exceeded previous‑year numbers, suggesting stabilisation. 

These trends support the district’s long‑term shift toward low‑carbon transport and highlight the importance of continued investment in public transport infrastructure and service quality. 

Traffic volumes continue to climb

Despite strong growth in active and public transport use, traffic volumes continue to rise across key corridors: 

• Kawarau Falls Bridge: 
  
  • 21,126 vehicles/day (Jan–Sept 2025) 
  • 12.7% increase from 2024 
  • 81% increase from 2019 
• SH6 South of Peninsula Road: 
  
  • 17,400 vehicles/day (Jan–Sept 2025) 
  • 14% increase from 2024 

Frankton Road (SH6A) is regularly reaching or exceeding theoretical capacity during peak times, while the opening of Arterial Stage 1 has noticeably reduced traffic on Stanley Street. 

These trends highlight the ongoing challenge: mode shift is improving, but growth in private vehicle use continues to outpace it. 

Travel time variability shows ongoing congestion pressure 

Travel time monitoring shows: 

• Travel into Queenstown is generally more stable 
• Travel eastbound out of Queenstown shows higher variability and longer peaks 
• School‑term periods create more pronounced morning and evening peaks 

This reinforces the need for continued investment in alternatives to private vehicle travel and careful planning to manage congestion and emissions. 

What this means for climate and sustainability 

The Q1 snapshot shows encouraging progress toward a more sustainable transport system: 

• More people are choosing to walk, cycle, and use public transport 
• Reliability improvements make buses a more attractive option 
• Strategic investments like the Arterial are already shifting travel patterns 

However, rising traffic volumes, particularly on southern corridors, remain a significant challenge for emissions reduction. Continued collaboration across planning, infrastructure, and community engagement will be essential to accelerate mode shift and support the district’s climate goals. 

Read the full report here