An on-demand airport shuttle from the transport centre to Hamilton Airport looks set to be scrapped.
That’s the recommendation for the Airport Flex mini-bus service from the multi-agency Future Proof public transport sub-committee.
It follows low patronage of between 100 and 150 passengers a month on the service over the past year, according to a staff report.
Using those numbers and total annual costs of $229,775, that meant a service provision cost of at least between $127 and $191 per passenger trip in 2022-23, compared to just a $3 one-way fare, analysis of figures in the report indicates.
The Airport Flex service – which operates 9.15am to 4pm seven days a week – also shared another $87,370 with the sister Night Flex service that year, taking the per trip cost even higher.
Those per head figures don’t take account of the relatively low level of revenue earned through the regional-council-funded service. Between February 2022 and June this year, fare revenue was $6687 from 2229 passengers, the report said.
