I’m slightly hopeful the bustastrophe is easing

It is now 18 months since our unbroken bus network was ‘‘fixed’’ and the problems began. Three of the main architects of the disastrous system have either retired or failed to win reelection. But the bureaucrats behind the changes are still there. Will we start to see some real change over the next few months, or will it be bustastrophiness as usual?

A ‘‘roadmap’’ that was recently shared by Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to a parliamentary select committee gave me some optimism, although even the word these organisations used for the plan – roadmap – shows where much of their thinking still lies.

New GWRC chairman Daran Ponter does not have his head in the sand and has had lots of experience at apologising for others’ snafus. Yet despite being a Labour councillor, he seems to be gaining approval from both sides of the political divide.

The roadmap will see the number of hated bus transfers reduced next year, and direct services increased. Great. Although GWRC regularly trumpets results such as ‘‘99.3 per cent reliability’’, I take them with a grain of salt as they are often so statistically dodgy they would make Kim Jong Un blush. Let’s remember this ‘‘reliability’’ and ‘‘punctuality’’ were achieved by cancelling some services.

My entirely unscientific anecdotal evidence tells me that, while the buses haven’t improved much in the past few months, nor have they got much worse.

Sadly, the increased congestion on Wellington’s roads would suggest that a significant number of former bus commuters have given up on buses and switched to cars or other transport instead.

Trains are a different matter. Despite dreadful infrastructure, a greater number of Wellingtonians are using trains – 800,000 more than last year. Ponter acknowledged that the increased number ‘‘shows the urgent need to fund a modern electric or hybrid fleet so we can avoid commuters being ‘packed in like sardines’.’’ Hear, hear.

Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later as commuters will happily use public transport if it’s comfortable, reliable and inexpensive.

Eighty new electric buses are also planned to be introduced – hopefully by the end of 2020. That’s fewer than the former trolley bus numbers but it’s a good start and will be welcomed by passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. Nothing is quite as disgusting for a cyclist as sitting at the lights behind one of the sooty old diesels that would be banned in most European cities.

Also welcome is the agreement between NZTA, GWRC and Wellington City Council on an action plan for bus priority. It became apparent during the recent elections that, while most of the bustastrophe could be blamed on the GRWC, bus priority had received far less attention from the city council than big picture issues like mass transit.

While it’s important to plan ahead, smaller short-term wins such as bus priority are also important. When the hubs and increased congestion started slowing down buses, the lack of bus priority planning became very apparent.

While GWRC is looking at traffic light priority for buses it would also do well to consider pedestrians. For short city walks, it’s easy to spend over half of the time waiting at the damned lights.

But the elephant in the room is bus driver numbers. Ponter reports that three of the four bus operators have a full contingent. Central government, the GWRC and the drivers’ unions worked well to introduce recent rest and meal break changes without major disruption. That bodes well for a regional council that last term refused to meaningfully engage with unions.

Let’s also remember that February and ‘‘mad March’’ next year is a critical time for public transport. If GWRC is forced to cancel services that have only recently been restored, and simply blame the ‘‘driver shortage’’ then the new regional council chums will receive little sympathy from commuters.

Hopefully, councillors and officials are looking at ways to ensure things will run more smoothly and that the crisis management of the past couple of years will be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, cycling numbers are increasing at double-digit annual rates and electric scooters are popular. Yes, there are issues to do with scooter riders and pedestrians which need to be sorted out.

The National Party’s response to these positive moves is to call for cyclists to be fined if they ride on the road when there is a cycle lane available. Really? I look forward to National also fining motorists who come within 1.5 metres of a cyclist, who open car doors in front of cyclists, and who park on cycle lanes.

Surely any tension between different mode users needs to be resolved, not inflamed by unnecessary nanny state laws. I say this not just as a cyclist, but as a pedestrian, scooter user and motorist as well.

Results such as ‘‘99.3 per cent reliability’’ . . . are often so statistically dodgy they would make Kim Jong Un blush.