Services added to Te Horo, Peka Peka

Route 290 passengers will soon be able to board services in Te Horo and Peka Peka following approval from Waka Kotahi to install interim bus stops on Peka Peka Link Rd and Old SH1 near the old School Rd junction.

Scheduled for completion on November 12, the stops will enable Route 290 buses to stop on the old State Highway (SH1) once more. Services on SH1 were discontinued in 2015 when high volumes of traffic deemed the bus stops unsafe.

Here is some more detailed comment from Metlink group manager Samantha Gain to help explain how Metlink staff have been working with Waka Kotahi staff and KCDC staff on this matter.

Gain says council was told to wait for the Kā piti Expressway to open, whereby traffic volumes would reduce enough to re-establish bus stops.

“While Metlink has been running buses on the expressway since it opened in December 2022, we’ve been working with Waka Kotahi and Kā piti Coast District Council (KCDC) to gain the approvals needed to install temporary stops along the previous route.

“We’ve been advised that permanent stops won’t be completed until 2024. We understand and appreciate the frustration felt by the local community, who’ve been waiting patiently for their bus service to return.

“Metlink always intended to reintroduce stops in Te Horo and Peka Peka and officers have worked hard with all parties to ensure these temporary stops are in place for passengers.”

Key to this work is the transfer of the road to KCDC, known as ‘revocation’. Waka Kotahi must also be happy that the road maintains the same function and meets the safety standards of other local, redesignated roads.

An updated timetable for the route 290 bus will be available on the Metlink website and from timetable providers from November 12.