Billboard boy shares love of riding buses

Matamata schoolboy Le Roy Sutherland is one of the stars of a new advertising campaign, I’m driven, highlighting the benefits of taking the bus to go shopping or catch up with friends in Hamilton.

Six-year-old Le Roy, a pupil at Hinuera School, visits his Hamilton-based grandmother, Ann Sutherland, on weekends and during school holidays. Together, they have a great time riding the buses.

They play games, point out interesting things along the way and use it as an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company.

Mrs Sutherland said the quality time she can spend with her grandson drove her to leave the car in the garage and take the bus instead.

The 71-year-old retiree lives in the Enderley area of Hamilton and volunteers at St John and the New Zealand Blood Service.

She uses buses regularly for outings and activities such as going to the library, shopping, getting to the blood centre, visiting friends and going out for coffee. She has two bus stops very close to her home and prefers to use the Orbiter to get around Hamilton.

‘‘It’s a great service, so why wouldn’t I use the bus? It gets me everywhere I need to go and it saves the hassles of finding a car park.

‘‘ When Le Roy visits we have a great time going on the bus together. We make a whole day out of it, travelling to The Base or Chartwell to have lunch and a look around.

‘‘Sometimes we’ll hop on the bus again to head up to the blood service at the hospital where my daughter works to say hi and perhaps have some afternoon tea, before heading home on the bus,’’ Mrs Sutherland said.

The five-month campaign features real Hamilton bus users sharing why they’re driven to use BUSIT services on billboards around town and the backs of buses.

Waikato Regional Council’s policy and transport group manager Vaughan Payne said the I’m driven campaign was about real people who really travel by bus, telling their stories.

‘‘We want to demonstrate how the Hamilton buses are affordable, will get you to your destination and also eliminate the parking hassle.

‘‘ We had more than 4.5 million passenger trips on Hamilton services in 2009/ 2010 and the results from our latest independent passenger survey show that 98 per cent are satisfied with the service.

‘‘ With school holidays starting, you can better enjoy the time with your kids by taking the bus to Hamilton’s fun destinations, like the zoo, Hamilton Gardens and swimming pools. Or let us drive you to the city centre, Chartwell or The Base to do your shopping,’’ Mr Payne said.

Find out more about BUSIT services by visiting www. busit.co.nz or calling 0800 4 BUSLINE (0800 4 2875463). You can also keep up to date with the latest information from BUSIT on Facebook: www. facebook. com/ busitwai kato.