PASSENGERS' STATISTICS * WORLDWIDE

* New Zealand - Bus travel continues to grow

Auckland,NZ -Stuff.co.nz -22 September 2008: -- Aucklanders and Wellingtonians are continuing to switch to public transport, says Infratil, the parent company of NZ Bus... In it latest figures the company says that in August Auckland saw an increase of 6 percent across the board from a year ago with over 3.4 million passengers making their journey by bus in the month... The figures come in the wake of Infratil chief executive Lloyd Morrison taking a swipe at some Auckland commentators and politicians wanting a return to complete public control of public transport... In 2005 Infratil bought the New Zealand public transport operations of the British company Stagecoach for $250 million... (BUSES POPULAR: Aucklanders and Wellingtonians are continuing to switch to public transport, says Infratil, the parent company of NZ Bus)


* USA - NFTA keeps packing them in

Buffalo,NY,USA -The Business First of Buffalo/Bizjournals.com (Charlotte,NC,USA), by James Fink -September 22, 2008: -- On its most visible fronts, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority continues to see major increases in traffic... Passenger counts at Buffalo Niagara International Airport continue to rise — despite a national decline in air traffic statistics, and the NFTA’s bus and Metro Rail system are also showing sharp increases... NFTA officials said, ridership on both the NFTA’s bus routes and Metro Rail light rapid transit lines continues to surge forward... Bus ridership in August was up 164,597 or 11.1 percent compared with August 2007 while Metro Rail ridership increased 4.8 percent, going from 489,304 riders to 512,547 passengers. Bus passenger count, in hard numbers, rose from 1,480,002 last August to 1,644,599 this year... For the year-to-date, bus ridership is up 8.6 percent, going to 13.96 million this year from 12.86 million last year...