Commuters’ pet hates: Late buses, fare prices

LATE-RUNNING services, having nowhere to sit, the price of fares and not having enough shelter from the elements are all among Wellingtonians’ pet hates when it comes to public transport.

Greater Wellington Regional Council’s annual public satisfaction survey has revealed just how happy people across the region are with their buses, trains and ferries.

While the overall level of satisfaction this year was an impressive 83 per cent, most of the aspects the council monitors were on the downward slide – if only slightly – and there were a few inevitable things still niggling at passengers.

The worst aspects of Wellington’s public transport system over the past year, according to those who use it, were the punctuality of services, the amount of information being provided about delays, the provision of shelter at stops, and the cleanliness of those stops.

The value for money of fares and the convenience of paying were also identified as areas of concern.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common suggestion from the public was to have more existing bus, train and ferry services running on time, and to provide more frequent services.

Cheaper fares were not far behind on the public’s wish list, although slightly fewer people were crying out for them this year than last year.

A significant chunk of the public, 18 per cent, also wanted more barriers between themselves and the weather at stops. Ferry passengers were the most vocal on this point.

Overall, public transport users were generally satisfied with the region’s network, with 83 per cent expressing some degree of satisfaction and 86 per cent saying they would recommend Metlink services to a friend.

Passengers were most impressed with the level of personal security they felt while using public transport, the ease of getting on and off vehicles, and how easy it was to reach their nearest railway station, bus stop or harbour ferry wharf.

Paul Swain, the council’s transport portfolio leader, said the overall satisfaction level was a lot better than it had been in previous years, which was encouraging.

The council had heard the public’s cry for improvements in some The public’s level of satisfaction with Wellington’s public transport

Personal safety during trips –95 per cent satisfaction (down 2 per cent on last year)

Ease of getting on and off buses/trains/ferries – 92 per cent (down 2 per cent)

Ease of getting to stops/ stations/wharf – 90 per cent (down 1 per cent)

Temperature inside buses/ trains/ferries – 88 per cent (down 2 per cent)

Helpfulness of driver and staff – 87 per cent (down 2 per cent)

Attitude of driver and staff –86 per cent (down 3 per cent)

Time it takes to reach destination – 82 per cent (down 1 per cent) Enough seats available on buses/ trains/ferries – 79 per cent (down 5 per cent)

Cleanliness of stops/stations/ wharf – 79 per cent (down 3 per cent)

Frequency of services – 78 per cent (down 2 per cent)

How convenient it is to pay –77 per cent (up 1 per cent)

Value for money of the fare –72 per cent (up 2 per cent)

Enough shelter at stops/ stations/wharf – 71 per cent (no change)

Reliability of service – 69 per cent (down 8 per cent)

Quality of information available about delays – 65 per cent (up 3 per cent) areas and they were being worked on, he said.

The arrival of more Matangi trains from Korea was expected to help meet demand, while KiwiRail now had more powerful and faster locomotives hauling carriages to and from Wairarapa.

A proposed new bus network and high-capacity double-deckers were also expected to significantly improve the experience for passengers.

‘‘Running public transport is a complicated business, but we’re listening,’’ Swain said. ‘‘We want to do better next time, that’s the reason why we do this survey.’’

The survey was done in April and May, and was completed by almost 4500 public transport users.