Express bus proposals axed
The brakes have been applied to proposals for Nelson-Wakefield and Nelson-Motueka express bus services.
Members of the Tasman District Council regional transport committee on Thursday agreed that work should cease on the proposals along with a suggested full extension of the existing Nelson-Richmond bus service.
However, the committee members also agreed a proposed Richmond loop service would proceed to a business case and potentially to a trial.
The committee will recommend to the full council that the new Richmond service be included in the draft Long Term Plan 2018-28 and Regional Land Transport Plan 2018 for consultation.
An assessment found the two proposed express bus services would not be feasible primarily because of low expected patronage and, consequently, ‘‘very high’’ fares per passenger.
The study, by Indicate, found fares could be between $31 and $73 for the trip between Motueka and Richmond, and $23 to $55 for the trip from Wakefield to Richmond.
The feasibility study recommended that to provide transport alternatives for Wakefield, Brightwater, Motueka and Mapua, a formal car-pooling scheme could be established.
A suggested Richmond South extension to the Nelson-Richmond bus service was discounted on the basis it would require significant investment in new buses as the existing service had ‘‘little to no slack’’ in the timetable.
However, it was found that a separate loop service around Richmond could be viable.
The decision to can the proposal for an express bus between Wakefield and Nelson disappointed sustainable transport lobby group Nelsust committee member Kate Malcolm.
She helped promote a petition requesting the service, which attracted more than 1000 signatures in March.
Malcolm spoke to the committee members before they voted, calling for a trial to go ahead.
‘‘We are not happy with the results or the ... basic assumptions of that feasibility study,’’ she said. ‘‘In fact, we would argue it’s incomplete without a trial.’’
Malcolm presented several suggestions to cut the cost of the likely fares including just one return trip daily for the trial, instead of two as originally requested.
She questioned whether some trends had been considered in the study including a tendency for people to get their driver licences later, saying the number of learner and restricted licences had ‘‘plummeted’’.
‘‘There’s fewer people who can legally drive to work or study,’’ Malcolm said. ‘‘You have invested in the desktop study but you still don’t know how many people are going to get on the bus. Do you want to know? You’ll never know unless you run a trial with affordable fares.’’
After the meeting, she said car pooling and ride sharing was supported but public transport should also be part of the mix.
‘‘I think a trial would be well worth doing because until you have an actual bus for people to get on, we don’t know if people are going to get on it,’’ she said.
Malcolm said she tried to speak on behalf of the young people, in particular, who were ‘‘stuck’’ at Wakefield.
‘‘Winz is telling them they’ve got to leave home if they want a job, well that limits their opportunities,’’ she said.
‘‘The transport choices of people living out there are limited.’’
Nelsust had been asked to help promote the ride-share proposal. The world came to Nelson streets last night.
Flocks of brightly coloured parrots, schools of fish, the Philippine community in intricate masks, a spectacular Chinese dragon and tigers, ladybirds and flowers gathered in Montgomery Square before the parade start at 5.30pm.
The ‘‘we are the world’’ theme was also nicely contrasted by a group of aliens with a sign saying ‘‘Earthlings, you aren’t alone’’.
The Nelson City Council was expecting more than 20,000 people to watch the parade and be part of the central city carnivale following it on a fine night. Crowds were already gathering on Trafalgar St at 5pm.
More than 3500 people had registered for the parade itself, including 41 groups, featuring a number of schools.
The route of the parade was the same as last year, from Montgomery Square onto Bridge St, Trafalgar St, Hardy St, Morrison St, along Selwyn Place to finish by Church St.
The Kim Merry Supreme Award was to go to the best in the parade, as well as cash and local product prizes.
The carnivale started at 6.30pm and was set to keep the crowds entertained until 10pm.