Too few buses is the problem

Vanishing seats on city buses (Sept 5) repeated a glib line from Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) to the effect that the No 2 service between Karori and Seatoun was primarily overcrowded through delays and cancellations by operator ‘‘NZ Bus running buses that were too small’’.

In fact, the total number of buses in the morning weekday rush hour (7 to 9, starting in Karori) has also been reduced by seven; and the total number in the evening rush hour (4 to 6, passing Courtenay Place going to Karori) has been reduced by six.

The new route 2 Karori/ Seatoun service replaced the previous route 3 Karori/Lyall Bay service. Anyone in possession of the old Route 3 bus timetable dated April 30, 2017 can check the above out by comparing to Metlink’s current website timetable. I understand similar reductions are plaguing some other route users.

Karori residents sometimes suffered from overcrowding and standing on the old route 3 service. Now it is much, much worse. The time has come for the regional council to replace its failed new bus network with the pre-July 15 one.

If not, it is time for an administrator to be appointed by the Government.

David Hunt, Karori

As a regular user of Wellington’s buses, the disappearing bus seats has left me quite bemused and very frustrated. A sign regarding safety that was visible on all buses seems to have disappeared also.

The sign read: ‘‘Your safety is important to us, please remain seated until bus has stopped.’’

I am guessing those responsible for ruining Wellington’s bus service, as well as removing a lot of the seating, realised quite quickly that they needed to remove the safety sign as remaining seated is now virtually impossible for a large number of bus users with safety compromised. Rozie Gorman, Karori

I do hope the vociferous, ungrateful, complaining commuting public appreciates the efforts being made by the GWRC to enhance their ‘‘standing experience’’ by taking out more bus seats. I also hope the GWRC rewards the genius who came up with the Pollyanna phrase ‘‘standing experience’’ with an assigned parking space at work.

Darrell Phillips, Paremata

Peters’ priorities

Winston Peters has put a spanner in the works through his refusal to allow the Labour Government to increase New Zealand’s annual refugee intake, something Jacinda Ardern promised to do before entering into a coalition Government with his NZ First.

Peters’ reason is that there is already enough poverty, particularly in Northland, and that this should receive priority on government funds over taking in more refugees.

On first sight this is most laudable. But if so, then should not the money he has targeted to go into building three allweather horse-racing tracks be better spent on relieving suffering in Northland?

If he was genuine, he would have obtained Labour’s agreement to relieve deprivation in the north before he obtained its agreement to his plan to restructure our horseracing industry. But he did not. Michael Vanderpump, Palmerston North

Vote-buying ploy

Re Counting the costs of Pike River (Aug 31), it seems the devil is in the detail on the setting up and mission of the Pike River Recovery Agency.

Agency chief executive David Gawn is reported as saying the primary mission is to reclaim the 2.3km drift. It will not enter the 5.5km of inner tunnels, known as the mine workings, where the bodies of the 29 men are likely to be.

He adds that ‘‘the primary purpose is to actually do the forensics examination to try and determine what happened – that’s the underlying purpose of this whole operation’’.

‘‘Yes, it will provide some degree of closure to the families. Yes, we might find some human remains in the drift – I think that’s less likely . . .’’

This affair can now be seen for the emotive, political posturing and vote-buying exercise it is. The cost, now projected to be $32m-plus, is an obscene waste of taxpayer money, which could be directed to cochlear implants, hip and knee operations or social housing.

It is not too late for the Government to rethink the political expediency of continuing. It seems the recovery of bodies, which motivated public and political support, is now secondary to finding someone to blame.

Wayne Krivan, Foxton [abridged]