View from the buses
Asonnet is a poem made up of 14 lines and typically has 10 syllables per line. A tranzit is a poem of Facebook posts, comments and tweets, typically up to 140 characters, having Wellington commuters talking about their new bus service.
There are 3 or 4 No 1 buses and all are going in different directions.
Took two buses today and they were on time and the drivers were nice. Love the new network!
Don’t worry, it is teething problems. Hope they’ve got a big tube of Bonjela.
I saw a No 1 driving through Mornington today. That’s so lost it’s almost cute.
It is definitely getting comical.
Last night I met someone whose commute has been significantly improved by the changes to Wellington’s bus timetable. She whispered this to me, as though the rest of the room might turn on us if they heard.
How can older people in retirement villages in Karori get to hospital appointments in Newtown? The bus used to provide direct one-trip connection. Now two buses needed each way.
My bus route has more benefits now than the previous. I’m a happy customer.
Obviously the people who ‘‘fixed’’ the buses don’t have small children or use buses.
I am very sympathetic to the drivers’ situation. More route training would have been a responsible investment by the operator.
Buses didn’t come this morning! Many people were waiting. Late for work and just mad.
You have removed the Lyall Bay service and the residents of these suburbs are now faced with the option of taking their vehicle into town rather than having a reduced bus service that provided them with no options.
Coming back from town yesterday on the 3, I was angry to see standing room only from Newtown to Kilbirnie. This was at lunchtime!
No one picked up after No 2 at Standen St into city, at least 25 left behind.
My 16-minute journey now takes up to 45 minutes.
It is literally faster to walk to the zoo from Wadestown than catch the bus. A 90-minute journey with three changes each way.
20-25 minute wait times at 8am in Kilbirnie and up to 80 people waiting at Hataitai at 8.30.
Just gave a sweet and rather sad kuia a lift into town. She’d been freezing out in this weather for close to an hour at a bus stop that’s supposed to have a bus pass every 20 minutes. ‘‘That Chris Laidlaw,’’ she spat, quietly.
A usually 20-minute ride home took over an hour tonight. Not cool.
Wellington taxis are loving our new bus system.
I’ve found the trip to and from town is easily 10-20 mins longer than the new timetable says.
First day 50min wait. Today we end up waiting less than 5min, but bus driver did the wrong route.
Why do the new drivers not know the routes? Surely they have maps?
Driver told me they weren’t given much time to learn new routes.
My poor driver was clearly from out of town and panicking on the hairpin.
They had to draft in drivers from all over the country who have no clue where anything is and guess who is paying for their motel accommodation
Passengers pointed out error, U-turn not possible.
Lost bus drivers should just follow the trolley lines. Wait a minute . . .
New drivers are so terrified of the winding and narrow 22/13 route they’re either crawling it or just not showing up.
Please be kind to your bus drivers, they are overworked, underpaid and they are taking a lot of shit from the public for something they had no control over.
As someone who’s qualified to drive a bus, I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that the reason there is a bus driver shortage is almost solely low wages.
MSD were undermining Welly bus drivers by lining up unemployed people to get behind the wheel.
This bus was non-existent three nights in a row last week.
I’m so mad about the new buses I’m going to do nothing, complain online, and get used to the new bus timetables.
Double deckers are my third favourite decker after Desmond and Black &.
The back door of our bus will only close properly after three tries so we have to sit at each stop for a minute listening to the delightful ‘‘door closing’’ horn.
Whoever provides the information for Real Time Information display signs should be nominated for a fiction award.
The poor Metlink rep at Wellington station is just saying ‘‘I have no idea where the buses are’’, even though the Metlink GPS tracking map is showing them as being at the station.
The good thing about the new Wellington bus system is the surprise element.
The result (of Greater Wellington Regional Council investment until 2021) will be a modern, integrated public transport network – the best in the country – and one we can be proud to call our own. Chris Laidlaw, chairman, GWRC.
Double deckers are my third favourite decker after Desmond and Black &.