Use Stoke OnDemand bus or lose it – mayor
“Use it or lose it” is the message Nelson mayor Nick Smith has for residents about the Stoke OnDemand bus service.
The new and expanded eBus service has been in place for seven months, including the OnDemand bus. The ride-sharing service shuttles users anywhere in Stoke between the boundaries of Saxton Field, Monaco, Marsden Valley, and Beatson Rd, and can be used to connect into the main eBus network.
With at least 200 virtual stops across the suburb, eBus OnDemand services a much wider area, but has seen fewer passengers than the old Stoke Loop bus it replaced.
Nelson City Council told Local Democracy Reporting in December that the service only had an average of 116 journeys a month, about 100 journeys fewer than the old Stoke Loop.
The contract cost for the OnDemand service accounts for 50km of travel per day. Currently, it only travels an average of 10km each day.
The new Route 2, which travels down Stoke’s Nayland Rd, could be accounting for some of the drop in patronage of the Stoke-specific service.
“I’m just worried about how much the Stoke OnDemand service is costing vis-à-vis its level of use,” Smith said at last week’s meeting of the Nelson Tasman joint transport committee.
The eBus network is currently operating at a shortfall, with actual revenue not meeting initial projections, though that gap has continually shrunk each month since the service’s launch.
Smith suggested that withdrawing the service could save costs.
The OnDemand service will be assessed during the review of the entire eBus network in August, a year after its launch, but some measures are being undertaken to try to boost patronage.
“The message that the transport committee should providetothe broader community on Stoke OnDemand is ‘use it or lose it’,” Smith said.
“[We're] happy to do a bit more tweaks to see if we can get it to work, but the public need to be aware that with the very low level of usage, I don’t think we can maintain [the service].”
Transport and solid waste manager Margaret Parfitt said the Stoke Loop service had been withdrawn over similar concerns in the past. However, it was reinstated after a local outcry, albeit on the reduced 9am to 3pm weekday schedule, which the eBus OnDemand service also employs.
“Some of the users were … ‘transport disadvantaged’, so the service was really there to meet a social need,” she said.
A survey of residents late last year revealed a desire for eBus OnDemand to link into the Junction retail outlet, and a poor understanding of the service.
The transport committee resolved that from April 1, the service will be expanded to include the Junction.
Council officers have also prepared an improved communications plan, including instructional pamphlets and videos, about the service.
When the service was launched, council staff visited retirement villages in Stoke to introduce the service. The council will hold training sessions again in March and April.
In addition to extending the eBus OnDemand’s range, the regional transport committee also agreed to a 12-week trial of allowing dogs on the eBus service from March 1, and to allow free travel for Total Mobility card holders from May 1.