Trains not for ‘important travel’
A woman who missed a business meeting because her train was late says she was told by a Transdev representative that she should not use public transport if she wanted to be on time.
Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab took the train from Waikanae to Wellington yesterday morning, arriving 46 minutes late because of a signal fault in Paeka¯ ka¯ riki.
Mitchell-Kouttab said she did not blame Transdev for the delay but was stunned to be told by the company’s retail sales manager that she was best not to use public transport for important travel.
After asking for a refund before heading back to Waikanae, she said she was told: ‘‘Well, in the future, if it’s something important, you shouldn’t use public transport’’.
Transdev runs the Wellington region’s rail service but the tracks are owned by KiwiRail.
Mitchell-Kouttab said she was stunned by the admission, and started writing down the comments on a notepad.
The staff member then allegedly rephrased and said: ‘‘Look, what I mean is, if it’s time critical you shouldn’t use public transport.’’
The woman then asked if she was meant to drive instead, and was told: ‘‘Listen, if someone jumped in front of a train and killed themselves, we couldn’t keep going and run the trains. We’d have delays – things happen’’.
Mitchell-Kouttab said she did not use public transport often but was told it was easy and reliable.
She was now unlikely to use it again after paying $20 for her return ticket. The fare was not refunded.
A Metlink spokeswoman said she had not been made aware of the alleged comments, and could not confirm nor deny they were made.
‘‘We do have disruptions from time to time. We have signals faults, which are out of our control, and we have natural disasters and earthquakes that have affected our services.’’
‘‘Unfortunately, that’s just the practicality of running an operational business.’’
‘‘If it’s time critical you shouldn’t use public transport.’’ Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab says she was told this by a Transdev retail sales manager.