The Wellington Region has a well developed public transport system, the most used in New Zealand. It consists of electric and diesel buses, commuter trains, ferries and a funicular (the Wellington Cable Car). It also included trams until 1964 and trolleybuses until 2017. Buses and ferries are privately owned, with the infrastructure owned by public bodies, and public transport is often subsidised. The Greater Wellington Regional Council is responsible for planning and subsidising public transport, and pays around NZ$30 million for bus and train services each year. The services are marketed under the name Metlink. The system covers Wellington City, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa. System Extent The Regional Council's Regional Public Transport Plan notes that Wellington had in 2017: a rail network with 147 carriages serving 53 stations a bus network with approximately 470 buses serving around 2,800 stops on around 108 routes two harbour ferries a five-station funicular, the Cable Car. GIS information indicates that 77% of the region's population lives within 800 metres of public transport stop with a 30-minute frequency or better. Wellington's hilly terrain has a considerable effect on public transport. Some planners consider Wellington to be a "good" city for public transport management, as the topography concentrates settlement in valleys or along coastlines, providing clear, dense "corridors" for transport routes. At the same time, however, the hilly terrain proved a hindrance for the construction of rail and tram lines, and buses sometimes have difficulty on narrow and winding streets. Usage According to Metlink, over 40 million passenger trips were made by public transport in Wellington in 2018/2019, and this number has been growing in recent years. The Wellington region has the highest per capita use of public transport in New Zealand, with trips per capita in the year ending September 2019. Of the approximately 37.33 million trips, around 24.33 million are made by bus, 12.80 million by train, and 0.18 million by ferry. Patronage data from the 2018/19 year is not directly comparable with previous years, particularly for bus services, due to changes in the reporting method for statistics related to the implementation of new bus contracts in the region. Details may be found in the cited spreadsheet. Ticketing Snapper cards to pay for fares instead of paper tickets were used on some buses from 2009; and on the Johnsonville Line from 2021, with adoption on other lines