There are many initiatives that city planners introduce to attract people to use public transport.

Free transport within certain zones, restricting car access, air-conditioned buses and trams, extensive public transport routes, new light rail lines and more.

But with all this in place – why are some major cities declining in public transport use?

The City of Perth has just recorded a drop in public transport use for the fifth year in a row.

And Perth is not alone.  While capital cities (not surprisingly) see the largest share of public transport use, many are also seeing consistent declines across the world as well as in Australia.

New York City’s subway system has posted its first dip in ridership since 2009, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The news follows a news week full of reported transit passenger declines in Los Angeles and San Francisco. And, for years, nearly every city in the U.S. (with a few notable exceptions) has posted negative percent changes, too. (Citylab, 2017)

It seems many people still prefer the relative privacy and personal space afforded by private vehicles.

Many predict the fast-approaching option of self-driving vehicles may be another solution – offering the convenience of a taxi or bus with the privacy of a private vehicle.  Will this trend also take away from the existing public transport pool?
Read more about the decline of public transport in Perth (and the likely reasons) here.