Bus network winners and losers
Major changes are just around the corner for Wellington bus commuters, but not everyone has been dealt a winning hand.
An overhaul of the region’s bus network, in the pipeline for several years, will finally come into effect across Wellington city in mid-July when new bus routes are rolled out.
It represents the most significant changes to Wellington’s well-used public transport system in 20 years, with new operators entering the fray and the city’s routes completely revamped.
The new network will force many Wellingtonians to change their daily commuting habits, with some facing longer or more disrupted journeys, while others benefit from new services, fare discounts and simplified ticketing systems.
The first of the changes was officially launched on Monday, when the Snapper bus payment system was rolled out in Wairarapa, replacing the former Tranzit a.to.b. card, and an interim bus timetable was introduced.
That timetable will end on July 15, when only minor changes to some public and school services will remain.
There will also be changes in the Hutt Valley from June 17, when free bus transfers will be implemented and new services will be introduced for Riverstone Terraces in Upper Hutt and Belmont in Lower Hutt.
From July 15, there will be regionwide discounts for off-peak commuters and full-time tertiary students (25 per cent), as well as school children, the blind and disabled (50 per cent).
Those will be offset by an average 3 per cent fare increase across the board – paid for by ratepayers and the NZ Transport Agency – mainly affecting one and two-zone bus fares in Wellington city.
Other general changes include standardised branding for all Metlink buses, Snapper replacing all other electronic payment cards, bike racks on all buses by early 2019, and more coordinated bus and train timetables.
A Metlink spokesman said 75 per cent of people would be within one kilometre of a high-frequency bus route, and there would be more off-peak and weekend services in many suburbs.
But the biggest changes are in Wellington city, where the new routes mean a more direct route for some and a more complicated one for others.
THE WINNERS
Victoria University nursing lecturer Helen Rook is on to a winner, with a bus to run direct from Johnsonville to Wellington Regional Hospital in Newtown.
Rather than having to catch a train or bus to Wellington Railway Station, then another bus to the hospital in Riddiford St, Rook can now catch the No 1 bus all the way to the hospital.
That will save her needing to find a car park or pay $10 a day for hospital parking while working at the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health.
The journey will be shorter at peak time but, more importantly, will save her needing to get in the car.
‘‘For a lot of people who live around here, it’s going to be really good and a positive move to get us out of cars and onto public transport.’’
Johnsonville commuter Dan Carson hopes new double-decker buses running from Island Bay to the northern suburbs will relieve pressure.
Carson commutes daily between Johnsonville Station and Willis St in the CBD, but is often forced to stand or even miss the bus because it is too full.
The fully electric, 82-seat doubledeckers will operate on the north-south ‘‘spine’’ route from Island Bay to Churton Park and Johnsonville.
‘‘That’s going to be awesome. At the moment, two buses often come at the same time, which means there is one bus with too many people and one with not quite enough,’’ he says.
THE LOSERS
Meaghan Serjeantson has an easy commute from Roseneath to St Catherine’s College in Kilbirnie, but that will change when her regular bus no longer goes past the school.
Meaghan catches the No 14 bus from Grafton Rd near her house to the Kilbirnie shops, within a four-minute walk from St Catherine’s.
But from July, the service will terminate in Hataitai, meaning Serjeantson and other Roseneath/ Hataitai students will need to connect to another bus to get to school.
That could be especially problematic on the journey home, as the 14 bus will only run every 30 minutes during offpeak hours.
While there are other options, one involves crossing the busy Evans Bay Pde during peak traffic, while the other would mean a 500-metre uphill walk to a bus stop.
Concern among parents is such that a petition to retain the service has gathered almost 1000 signatures.
Serjeantson’s mother, Karen, says the Scots College school bus was suggested as an alternative but is not suitable because the largely boys’ bus would be intimidating for girls.
It takes Tracey Turner less than 20 minutes to get from her Highbury Rd home to the Ministry of Education Building in Bowen St, but she will now need to take two buses to achieve that.
Rather than catching the No 20 bus direct to Bowen St, Turner will need to catch two buses, connecting to either the No 33 or No 2 from Glenmore St in Northland.
There will be a direct service to the north end of Lambton Quay, with a short walk to Bowen St, but that will take longer because it will go through Aro Valley and Willis St, rather than Kelburn and The Tce.
Turner also has concerns for elderly people going to the medical centre or other services at Kelburn village, as they will now need take two buses to get there.