Published as Issue No. 99: Special Issue
April 15, 2014
On our Buses: For two years Houghton Valley and Southgate residents have been involved with the Wellington Bus Review, with Christine Fowler, chair of the Houghton Valley Progressive Association and Linda Cameron attending meetings and leading the preparation of a substantial submission.
It seems further effort is needed. What appeared to be a very good result for local people may not be as good after all. After Christine attended a meeting last week in Kilbirnie about the Regional Public Transport Plan on Wednesday, and received communications from former regional councillor Daran Ponter, she and Linda have commented about the proposed re-revised bus routes and timetables which:
“… have some significant variations from the earlier plans we were consulted on … it is very important the community be made aware of the revised plans for the bus routes as they may affect some people, for example:
- Travelling on both the Houghton Bay and Southgate services into Wellington City will require you to change buses at the hospital. At peak times 3 buses are proposed to travel direct to and from Wellington.
- The revised Houghton Bay and Southgate bus services will not travel through to the university, therefore travelling to the university from our suburbs at off-peak times will require you to change buses twice each way (and once each way if travelling at peak times).
We would encourage everyone who uses the buses to review the revised bus transport plans and to make a submission to Greater Wellington Regional Council if they are unhappy with the proposals. Information about how to make a submission is available on the GWRC website. Submissions close at 4pm, Friday 9 May 2014″
Linda and Christine are also considering updating the submission sent in last June and submitting that by 9 May, so if anyone would prefer to incorporate their feedback into this submission they are welcome to email information Christine with ‘Regional Public Transport Plan submission’ in the subject line.
Main points from Daran Ponter’s email.
“There are elements of the proposals that are quite positive. However, some communities will now find that they have taken a backward step and that where through routes were originally proposed, bus changes will now be required. Bus routes have also been configured in different ways. So ‘your’ bus may not take you to where you want to go. I would urge you all to carefully study the proposals and make submissions as appropriate.
You may recall that during 2012 we held a series of well attended meetings across the City to discuss and encourage submissions on the Wellington Bus Review. This led to more than 5,000 submissions on the proposals. The result was generally positive – the Council listened and routes and timetables were realigned to better meet community needs. The Regional Council has now re-issued the Wellington Bus Review for public consultation. In the process it has factored in its recent decision related to Rapid Bus Transit through the Wellington Spine(s). I am more than happy to assist groups in drawing up submissions to the Council.”
[Bus review links not current]
