Ka¯piti shares Wellington’s bus woes

Lost drivers, timetable trouble and missed connections — you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Wellington City.

Ka¯ piti Coast is experiencing public transport woes of its own under a new network that one commuter described as being ‘‘survival of the fittest’’.

Following complaints, Greater Wellington Regional Council is reviewing at least one route and reminding bus operators to wait for trains.

‘‘The overall message is the same as that in Wellington City, we’re listening and where necessary, we’ll act in the interests of customers,’’ said a spokesman.

Wellington’s new bus network has been plagued with problems since it launched in July and the regional council has admitted it got some things ‘‘terribly wrong’’.

While Wellington’s bus fiasco had seen commuters faced with long waits, packed buses and drivers who didn’t know their route, tight timing and missed connections were the issues Ka¯piti residents complained about most.

Helen Avery said buses missing train connections meant a long wait for evening commuters, who experienced the opposite problem in the morning.

‘‘The morning timetable is so tight some buses arrive at the station pretty close to trains arriving, so it is survival of the fittest.’’

Sue James said she had been ‘‘stranded’’ at the bus depot because the train she was on ran late.

‘‘We were minutes late and as we pulled in could see the bus leaving. The drivers must know we’re going to be late, so why can’t they wait?’’

One Waikanae man said it wasn’t just commuters who had been affected – the school bus service had been ‘‘awful’’ since the change.

‘‘Delays, tiny buses, drivers getting lost again and again. I hope we never experience a bus crash with all those kids who must stay up during the ride.’’

Opinions on the new system weren’t all bad. Paraparaumu man Cody Cooper said his usual commute to Porirua was good and the bus drivers were helpful and friendly.

A Greater Wellington Regional Council spokesman said bus drivers on local routes were required to wait up to five minutes beyond their scheduled departure time for laterunning trains.

‘‘There has been some comment that this isn’t always happening, so we will remind the operator of their ‘‘The [bus] drivers must know we’re going to be late, so why can’t they wait?’’ Ka¯ piti train commuter Sue James contractual obligations, and encourage them to address the issue with their drivers.’’

Route 250 – a morning connection with the train to Wellington – was being reviewed following complaints from commuters, who had to run to catch their train.

The new timetable allowed a seven-minute window – considered the optimum time between services – between all morning peak route buses and Wellington-bound trains, whereas it had previously varied between six and 11 minutes.

‘‘However, we know from feedback this window may not give enough time to transfer to a connecting train, so we’re reviewing timetables for this service to determine whether the transfer window could be increased,’’ a spokesman said.

The Ka¯piti services were still new and data was still being collected from the operators and members of the public

‘‘We are beginning our analysis of the information and will review service changes in light of our findings.

‘‘This means we will look at matters of design – such as are the bus-rail connections timed correctly? Are the timetables appropriate for coasters’ needs, and so on.

‘‘We will also get the operators involved in matters of operation – such as driver training.’’

Greater Wellington Regional councillor Penny Gaylor had received only three complaints about the service.

She was pleased with the quick response from staff to find solutions.