New bus service a hit with Summerhill’s older residents
‘‘If we can walk on with our walkers that makes a big difference.’’ Colleen Grady
Some of Palmerston North’s older residents will now be able to nip into town by bus.
A new, more regular, Summerhill bus service has been put in place this month and the residents of Summerset on Summerhill resthome are among those eager to get on board.
The previous service had gone through Massey University and had dropped in frequency when the university’s semesters ended.
The new service would go directly to town and be more frequent.
The two year trial is being run by Horizons Regional Council, which announced the service to residents on Wednesday.
Summerset resident Jeanne Candish said she and her husband Gordon would not have to worry about driving now.
‘‘We found the bus service is quite good, we always had a car up to about two weeks ago, I got too nervous to drive.’’
The pair, in their 80s, have lived at Summerset for 16 years and hoped they could use the bus more now.
Fellow residents Colleen Grady and Maragret Hollingsworth were pleased to hear the buses would kneel to allow them to take their walkers on.
‘‘If we can walk on with our walkers that makes a big difference,’’ Grady said.
‘‘We might think about using it now,’’ Hollingsworth said.
Horizons passenger transport chairwoman Rachel Keedwell said using the previous bus relied on knowing the dates of Massey’s semesters, something Summerset residents might not be aware of.
‘‘If it is difficult to use, they’re not going to use it.’’
She encouraged the seniors to get on board. ‘‘Have a go, give us feedback, if it gets used we will be able to keep it.’’