Newcastle public transport patronage is barely half of what it was before COVID-19 as commuters continue to abandon the network.
Transport for NSW Opal card figures show bus passenger numbers across Newcastle averaged 246,000 a month in the six months to November 2022, compared with 397,000 a month in the corresponding period in 2019, a fall of 38 per cent.
Tram passenger numbers averaged 61,500 a month in the six months to November, 40 per cent below the 103,900 a month who caught the service in its first year in 2019-20.
COVID-19 fears, restrictions and lockdowns cut passenger numbers dramatically from April 2020, and the figures show the Keolis Downer-run bus and tram services have far from fully recovered from the hit.
The continued lower usage in Newcastle, including on trains and ferries, is consistent with decreases across Sydney and in other NSW regional areas.
Overall public transport usage on the state's buses, trains, trams and ferries was down 38.2 per cent in November compared with the corresponding month three years earlier.
Average monthly Opal card trips across all services fell from 63 million in 2019 to 36 million last year, a drop of 43 per cent.
In its first year of operation, Newcastle's 2.7-kilometre tram route attracted more than 100,000 passengers in eight separate months.
The highest monthly patronage in 2022 was 72,000 in April, despite the end of most pandemic restrictions and relatively low COVID numbers in the community.
Similarly, 2022 bus patronage peaked at 265,000 in November, a far cry from the 455,000 passengers who travelled in March 2019.
Passenger numbers on the Hunter's train network have also failed to recover after plummeting with the onset of the pandemic.
The Central Coast Newcastle Line recorded an average of 800,000 trips a month in the six months to November 2022, down 49 per cent on the monthly average of 1.56 million in 2019.
The Hunter Line recorded a similar drop, from 86,000 a month in 2019 to 46,000 a month last year.
Hunter public transport advocate Darrell Harris said the numbers suggested many workers had not returned to their offices and other passengers were avoiding public transport.
"How much of that is to do with changed work practices and working from home," he said.
"And it could be some people are still avoiding confined spaces."
Patronage on the Stockton ferry service dropped from 46,000 a month in 2019 to 32,000 a month last year.
Mr Harris said it was difficult to see on the horizon what would restore the region's public transport patronage to pre-COVID levels.
"It's basically out of Keolis Downer's control," he said.
"There's possibly a bit of an effect of reduced overseas visitors and cancelled events, but they don't make that much difference."
Keolis Downer's 10-year "Newcastle Integrated Services Contract" to operate the city's buses, light rail and ferries expires in June 2027.
