Reliability a major issue

Fewer people are taking the bus around the Western Bay as the reliability of the region’s public transport service drops.

Quarterly figures presented to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council public transport committee lastweek showed a drop in the number of people using all Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty buses, except in Te Puke.

One of the biggest drops in the Bay was the number of people using Katikati and Omokoroa bus services.

Usage was down 18.6 per cent to 9610 users in the year to March.

In Tauranga, use of Bayhopper buses was down 6 per cent to just under 1.3million users in the year to March, compared with the previous year.

Tauranga SchoolHopper service patronage was down 9.7 per cent.

Te Puke was the only Western Bay area to buck the trend, with a

27 per cent increase in bus use to

12,217 journeys— the biggest percentage increase on the network.

In his report, council senior transport operations officerMike Furniss said bus service reliability was a “major issue” in Tauranga.

Despite being only nine months into the financial year, the number of complaints about late or missing buses in Tauranga have already eclipsed the totals for each of the full previous years.

And in mystery shopper ratings, “punctuality and reliability” was the only part of the service to drop below 80 per cent. Mystery shoppers rated other aspects of the service, including price, comfort and driving, at close to 100 per cent.

Committee chairman Lyall Thurston said the regional council acknowledged the issues.

“Until we get the infrastructure and the proper electric bus fleet and make the whole experience more favourable for people we acknowledge that we’re going to have a challenge.”

He said the regional and city councilswere working collaboratively to find solutions.

Meanwhile, the regional council is rolling out a new smartphone app that will provide real-time information for Katikati bus users aimed at improving public transport service. The new app— Transit, will allow users to see the next buses arriving at their location, set a favourite route number, and plan their journey in real-time.

Mr Thurston said it was now available for Katikati and Omokoroa users.