Currently Browsing: buses
Leaky Bus Shelters: Wellington’s 20 Year Plan
Posted by Jon C in General, Wellington, busesFeb 26th, 2010 | 4 Comments
We’re not the only bus commuters fed up with those leaky Adshel shelters.
Back in September, I blogged about how I was drenched while sitting in a shelter downtown waiting for a bus and by the time a bus arrived “I looked like a wet-soaked homeless trying to bludge a ride. “
So it’s good to see Greater Wellington Regional Council looking at the issue, (although only because it’s forced to for financial reasons) . The soaking of passengers is no doubt even worse in the capital’s harsher climate.
The Adshel deal is attractive to councils, because it saves the council thousands ...
Bus Athiest Ads Rejected
Posted by Jon C in busesFeb 23rd, 2010 | 29 CommentsNZ Buses have rejected ads from atheist campaigners that were to run along the side of buses.
The ads read; There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
The campaigners raised $20,000 in public donations to run the campaign on ads in the main centres and say the bus company tentatively agreed but then said they had had complaints from people who disapproved.
The campaigners say they’re considering going to the human rights review tribunal, saying advertisements with identical wording ran in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Spain.
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Bus Passengers To Get Instant Discount Offers
Posted by Jon C in busesFeb 15th, 2010 | 6 Comments
Start checking the back of your bus tickets if you travel on Metrolink, LINK, GO WEST , North Star and Waka Pacific buses .
You’ll find discounts offered – as you do on some supermarket dockets.
The bus companies have entered into an agreement with Superdockets, who do the same on supermarket receipts.
Every customer is promised something to the value of at least $4 or the chance to win an overseas trip each time they take a bus.
“Enhancing the public transport experience for our customers is how we will make ourselves the way our communities choose to travel,” says Zane Fulljames, General...
Confirmed: Auckland Bus Fares Up 2-3%, Train Up 5-7%
Posted by Jon C in buses, faresFeb 10th, 2010 | 7 Comments
ARTA this afternoon confirmed that bus and train fares will rise from February 21.
Bus fares for single and ten trip tickets will increase between 2 to 3 per cent and rail fare increases on average between 5 to 7 per cent.
This follows the revelation here today of the news thanks to reader Andrew spotting some changes in the fares on the Maxx site. Full details are here.
At the lower end of single ticket fares, there are some increases above 3 per cent on bus and above 7 per cent on rail due to the minimum possible price increment of ten cents.
ARTA’s Chief Executive, Fergus Gammie, says Mr Gammie...
Bus Culture ‘Taking Root” In Hamilton
Posted by Jon C in Waikato, busesFeb 8th, 2010 | No Comments
Hamilton bus services are showing growth, according to a report to today’s meeting of Waikato’s regional passenger transport committee.
“The bus culture is taking further root in Hamilton which has got to be good for unclogging our roads and making our main city more efficient,” said one councillor.
Hamilton’s bus services have always been put forward as a success story and a reason the regional council thinks that is where it’s energy should be, rather than spending it on rail.
The latest figures tabled today show significant annual growth in Hamilton bus passenger numbers...
How To Avoid Sitting Next To Someone On PT
Posted by Jon C in General, busesFeb 5th, 2010 | 2 CommentsVariable delays on the Western Line because of Newmarket and Britomart platform berthing issues means I have been using more buses than I would like lately – for occasions I need to have a clear ETA -something not possible at rush hour if you’re heading to Britomart with little time to spare.
And I’m not greatly enjoying the experience of using the bus.
There is something slightly claustrophobic about buses compared to trains – that might be too strong a word as I don’t have that phobia – but whatever it is that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable has a lot to do with seating.
When...
62 More Dominion Rd Bus Trips A Day
Posted by Jon C in busesJan 29th, 2010 | 3 Comments
62 more trips each weekday for buses on Dominion Road from Tuesday.
If you catch a bus in the next few days, you’ll find the new Metrolink Dominion Rd timetables but with buses running every five minutes, there’s probably no need for one.
The extra 62 trips a day from Monday to Friday on the busy Dominion Rd route, equates to 15,500 more trips every year.
The new timetable will see a bus run from Mt Albert Rd along Dominion Road to St James CBD (Monday to Friday, 7.00am to 3.00pm) and then back again every five minutes (Monday to Friday, 9.00am – 7.00pm).
Metrolink is further adding to these...
Surprise! Auckland Crosstown Bus Services Are Popular
Posted by Jon C in busesJan 28th, 2010 | 2 Comments
We’ve often spoken here about the wish for more crosstown buses in a city that’s not easy to get from point A to B, if you don’t want to go via Symonds St or the inner city.
So it’s pleasing to see the latest ARTA figures show crosstown buses, like the excellent Urban Express ones, do work and gather customers.
Crosstown routes 008 and 009, operated by Urban Express, were redesigned in November 2007 with additional stops added in, to make them easier for customers to use and understand, as well as to improve service frequency and reliability.
Those simplified services and shopper-friendly...
Airport Bus Patronage Leaps
Posted by Jon C in Auckland Airport, busesJan 21st, 2010 | 12 Comments
From the “Build it and they’ll come” case studies:
Numbers of people using public transport to Auckland airport have leapt since bus services got better and more frequent.
ARTA released figures today that show the Airbus Express and the Manukau Airporter 380 services have both grown substantially in recent months; year-to-date figures show that patronage on the 380 service has increased by 78.5% and the Airbus Express has also shown significant increase in passenger numbers when compared to the previous year.
ARTA’s Mark Lambert says improving services to the airport is an important priority...
Sign of Things To Come? Northland Bus Services Reduced
Posted by Jon C in busesJan 14th, 2010 | 2 Comments
The Northland Regional Council has reviewed the number of passengers who have been travelling on each of its 39-seater bus since the current 10-strong fleet began operating 18 months ago.
And Whangarei’s CityLink public bus service will now drop a number of mainly early morning and evening services from March along with other cuts.
It says people have gone back to using cars since petrol prices stabilised.
Northland Regional Transport Committee Chairman John Bain says the changes will remove poorly patronised trips carrying three or fewer passengers at a time and should save about $300,000...
How We Choose Who To Sit Next To
Posted by Jon C in buses, passengersJan 11th, 2010 | 12 Comments
How do you choose who you sit next to on a train or bus?
A Victoria University researcher has been studying how we make the choice and why.
One of the things that is always fascinating to watch on the train is how incoming passengers glance around nervously and quickly weigh up who they would like to sit next to – if they have a choice.
I made a bad choice in the last week of the train service by sitting next to someone who turned out to have the worst BO I have encountered for a while!
It’s always hard to know what to do. Getting up and shifting is pretty rude as it’s so obvious!
A PhD...
RailBus Is a Bizarre Experience
Posted by Jon C in busesDec 27th, 2009 | 2 Comments
Buses have replaced trains so that work can proceed on the tracks – and it’s great a service continues. But what a bizarre experience when a train morphs into a bus.
The Veolia woman is yelling out of the bus front door to the couple standing by the bus stop: “Are you looking for a train?”
The bus stop is nowhere near a train station.
The couple, struggling with English and, one assumes, visitors to Auckland, look a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
They’re standing at a bus stop hoping to find a way to get into the city. A bus arrives but they’re told that...
Infratil Closer to Buying Shell
Posted by Jon C in busesDec 21st, 2009 | 3 Comments
Infratil is closer to buying Shell NZ.
Infratil's Wellington Go buses
In a legal move that takes it closer, a “letter of intent” has today been signed relating to the potential acquisition of Shell New Zealand’s downstream assets by Infratil and the Guardians.
The Letter of Intent is not an acquisition contract.
But it does represent Infratil and the Guardians’ clear intention to proceed to acquire Shell’s New Zealand downstream assets if relevant pre-requisites are met including the securing of third-party approvals.
Earlier Infratil hinted that if it buys Shell, it may sell...
Christchurch Argues Over Bus Lanes
Posted by Jon C in Christchurch, busesDec 5th, 2009 | 1 Comment
In Auckland, we don’t bat an eyelid at bus lanes or bus priority traffic light signals – apart from a few motorists who grumble about buses taking over the road.
So it’s fascinating to see Christchurch still having a debate about them.
The Christchurch City Council plans bus lanes and other public transport improvements on the Colombo Street south route.
The local regional council, Environment Canterbury, which like the ARC, plans and funds Christchurch’s Metro services , strongly supports the plan.
Shopkeepers continue to tell the local media they’ll go broke, saying that their businesses...
Govt Transport Agency Welcomes Snapper To Auckland
Posted by Jon C in Ticketing, busesDec 1st, 2009 | No Comments
In the latest twist in the integrated ticketing saga, the government’s transport agency has welcomed the bombshell announcement that Snapper is heading off preferred tenderer Thales and introducing its Snapper card into Auckland.
The NZ Transport Agency is making it clear that Snapper will be allowed into the integrating ticketing mix both in Auckland and nationwide.
The agency makes no mention of Thales by name – but NZTA chief executive, Geoff Dangerfield, said the NZTA would continue to engage with a range of technology and transport operators to ensure that “their preferences with...
Busway Fees Update: Council Fingers New Govt’s Pro-Car Policy
Posted by Jon C in busesDec 1st, 2009 | 6 Comments
The North Shore council is pointing the finger at the government as the reason why it’s moving to start charging for park and ride facilities in Albany and Constellation Drive for commuters using the Northern Express on the Northern busway. The move has caused an outrage among commuters and a council committee was virtually told today that the cause was it’s in line with the new government’s push for cars over public transport. How else can one interpret this following explanation given to the committee by the council’s busway official?
And it’s an explanation that suggests the...
How To Kill The Northern Busway
Posted by Jon C in busesDec 1st, 2009 | 6 Comments
The Northern Busway has been the shining success story for Auckland public transport.
Was, past tense.
Impressive increased patronage figures is also evident in feeder bus services – particularly those that link with the park and ride facilities in Albany and Constellation Drive.
My friends who use it have switched from using their car to parking and riding and smirk about sailing past the queues of slow moving cars as they roar in the Northern Express bus across the bridge towards Queen St.
This week, they all tell me they’re – reluctantly – going back to their cars,...
Integrated Ticket Bombshell: Snapper’s Onslaught Into Auckland
Posted by Jon C in Ticketing, busesDec 1st, 2009 | 7 Comments
Infratil is upping the stakes in the integrated ticketing saga by revealing it’s going to steal the march on Thales, ARTA’s preferred supplier, and will go ahead anyway and bring its so-called integrated ticketing – in the form of its Snapper card – to Auckland from about June.
Dangling the carrot that it can bring a nationwide system in time for the RWC without any cost to Auckland ratepayers, Infratil will introduce the Snapper cards on NZ Buses in Auckland and by the end of next year, the cards will be available to 60% of Auckland’s public transport market.
It’s also pursuing...
Kiwi Bus Company Buys Kiwi
Posted by Jon C in busesDec 1st, 2009 | 3 Comments
Great to find a Kiwi bus company providing work for New Zealanders and really supporting things Kiwi.
Ritchies has chosen NZ-made for buying 120 new buses to replace its nationwide school fleet – a mix of 40 and 48-seaters with the latest in emission controls.
It’s spending $21 million, buying the buses from Christchurch-based DesignLine over the next four years.
The company says it’s buying NZ because of their quality and safety features. Company director, Andrew Ritchie, said the company wanted to invest in a New Zealand company – “ after all, it is New Zealanders who we...
Mike Lee ‘Unsung Hero’ In Solving Bus Dispute
Posted by Jon C in busesNov 27th, 2009 | 6 CommentsARC Chair, Mike Lee, is being called the unsung hero in the Auckland bus pay dispute settlement.
The Council of Trade Unions secretary, Peter Conway, today thanked him for his assistance in resolving this dispute.
“Mike Lee and also the Board of ARTA played a crucial role in achieving today’s outcome and this should be acknowledged.” He said that this was always a decision that it was up to the workers affected to decide and it had brought to an end a “long-running and difficult dispute.”
The members of the Auckland Combined Unions, representing the bus drivers and cleaners, this week...
Minding Your Bus Manners In Wellington (Photos)
Posted by Jon C in Wellington, busesNov 27th, 2009 | 8 Comments
It’s a strange business this Manners Mall bus controversy that ignites with passion when it comes up in conversations here in Wellington.
I was initially horrified that buses, which presently just poke their head around the edge of the pedestrian mall, would start roaring through -until I heard the argument that it would encourage public transport.
It would look like this, according to the council design:
Design |Wellington City Council
It’s hard to get any handle on a city’s politics when you don’t live there and you have to trust locals and leave it to them to know best...
Auckland Bus Drivers Accept Pay Offer, Dispute Over
Posted by Jon C in busesNov 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment
Finally Auckland’s bus dispute has been settled and there’s agreement in place for the next few years, including the period of the Rugby World Cup.
NZ Bus and the Auckland Combined Unions reached an agreement on a proposal at mediation on Tuesday and today members of the Auckland Combined Unions voted to accept the offer.
The offer that was accepted today was 11.5 per cent over three years (4.2 per cent, 4.0 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively).
Zane Fulljames, General Manager Operations said: “For negotiation to be effective, it requires two parties to come to the table. The unions...
Veolia “May Buy” NZBus – Speculation
Posted by Jon C in busesNov 23rd, 2009 | 5 CommentsHere’s interesting speculation. Veolia to buy NZ Bus.
Infratil selling NZ Bus is today’s bet in the wake of last week’s six-monthly earnings report from Infratil in which they made it clear they’re juggling their accounts to snatch the big prize of Shell NZ.
Infratil is working with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to acquire Shell’s New Zealand energy distribution and refining assets. “If completed, the transaction would be attractively priced and result in control of an integrated downstream energy business in a stable market with earnings growth opportunities,...
Bus Dispute Parties Take A Deep Breath
Posted by Jon C in busesNov 5th, 2009 | No CommentsParties in the bus dispute are taking some breathing space to work out where to go from now in the six-month long bus dispute.
It appears no-one has the answer to that now that mediation has been exhausted and the bus drivers have angrily rejected the proposed solution.
Combined bus unions spokesman Karl Andersen says the unions will have to get back into negotiations with the company at “some stage” but will first spend some time considering the best course to take.
NZBus’ general operations manager also said his company “will now take some time to consider our position and to understand...
ARTA Very Concerned About What’s Next In Bus Dispute
Posted by Jon C in busesNov 4th, 2009 | No Comments
ARTA says that it is very disappointed that agreement has not been reached today in respect of wage negotiations between NZ Bus and the Auckland Combined Unions.
ARTA’s CEO, Fergus Gammie says: “This is a disappointing outcome and we encourage both parties to settle this situation with urgency in respect of any potential further impact on Auckland’s bus commuters.
“In the interests of Auckland’s travelling public, it is critical that this dispute be resolved as soon as possible and resolution reached.”
Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association says the prospect...
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