It could be a long cold wait for the bus culprits

I’m quietly going about my business on a Sunday and someone approaches me. ‘‘I’ve just driven in from Plimmerton and seen seven ‘Not in Service’ buses on the way. Where are they all going?’’ Good question.

The night before, on their way to the rugby, someone waits over 20 minutes for a bus that is apparently arriving in nine minutes. Don’t they know that, according to a Tranzdev representative, you shouldn’t take public transport if you want to be on time?

While some local body politicians were slapping themselves on the back because Lonely Planet named Wellington as its top New Zealand destination, I’m grateful there is not a magazine called Crap Public Transport, because Wellington might make the world top five.

Yesterday, the 7.51am from Kingston is cancelled yet again. And the 7.25am from Houghton Bay is cancelled. It’s Groundhog Bustastrophe Monday. Apparently, if drivers don’t turn up, the service gets cancelled. There are no relievers. Please don’t ever let bus companies run our intensive care wards.

Will things ever improve? ‘‘I think the fact that things are still not working after a couple of months and masses of complaints is because the system is probably fundamentally flawed,’’ said someone on Facebook. Hear, hear.

But not everyone is unhappy. I caught two rushhour buses last Wednesday and they both delivered me on time, and Snapper worked perfectly. ‘‘Ringin’’ Tranzit bus driver Robert Murray, writing in this newspaper, loves his job and, like his employers, reckons the buses are OK.

He’s not convinced that ‘‘your correspondent who strong-arms his opinion about buses regularly knows what he’s talking about’’. Strong-arms? Who could he possibly mean?

After weeks of public silence, and a little goading from activists, Wellington Mayor Justin Lester rightly criticised the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) for the Bustastrophe. ‘‘My advice to any elected official on any issue is there’s an expectation from Wellingtonians that you front up,’’ Lester said. ‘‘There’s an expectation that you acknowledge mistakes and that you clearly outline how you’ll address them at every possible opportunity.’’ I don’t always agree with our mayor, but I hope some of our GRWC leaders follow his sage advice.

The GWRC management then announced that lack of progress on the construction of the hubs was due to delays caused by the Wellington City Council. Really? Councillor Diane Calvert described this as ‘‘spin’’, and I agree. Any construction project like bus hubs will involve negotiating with the city council, so surely a good project manager will build that into the timeline.

For those that don’t know what a bus hub is, it’s a desolate suburban place 50 metres from the old bus stop, where confused Wellingtonians stand in rain and wind waiting for a bus that sometimes arrives. Most hubs are currently construction sites but by mid-summer they will be ready to protect commuters from mid-winter conditions.

If you live in an outer suburb, then you arrive at a bus hub and transfer to another bus, which has usually left about 30 seconds before you arrive. You then wait another 20 or 30 minutes for the next bus and pray that it won’t befall the same fate as the 7.51am from Kingston.

Is the GWRC listening to the public outrage? Yes and no. Since the kerfuffle there have been a few new bus services added to the network. Yet Barbara Donaldson, chair of the sustainable transport committee, has attended only one public bus meeting as she found the behaviour of community members unacceptable. Chris Laidlaw has attended four that I am aware of.

However, councillors Ian McKinnon, Roger Blakeley, Daran Ponter and Sue Kedgley have all attended at least six, fronted up and apologised. Bear in mind also that McKinnon, Blakeley and Ponter weren’t even on the council when the new network and contract decisions were made. Kedgley tried her best to stop the first stage of the network – the dismantling of the trolleys – but was ignored. These four are not anti-public transport.

However, Laidlaw and Paul Swain oversaw the tendering process, including not protecting bus drivers’ conditions, that has led to many of the problems, so must take some blame.

I suspect the sitting councillors who want to be re-elected should organise now so they go into the next elections united with a platform of fixing the bus system, even if that means abolishing hubs and going back to the old network. Failure to do so could ensure that they wait longer than a shivering commuter at a Wellington bus hub to find themselves back on the council.

For those that don’t know what a bus hub is, it’s a desolate suburban place 50 metres from the old bus stop.