Letters To Editor:Lack of bus shelter 'a disgrace'

I have been following the letters regarding the lack of a Napier bus terminal with interest. Last year, a dedicated group collected more than 1000 signatures and Barbara Arnott and I chaired a public meeting in council chambers on this very subject. My view is that the current situation is nothing short of a disgrace.

Napier is a tourist town, and more than 100,000 passenger journeys are made on buses in and out of our city every year.

For many of our elderly citizens, buses are the primary means of intercity travel and a huge number of tourists arrive into Napier on the bus.

Yet we don't even have a terminal; we have a bus stop with very little shelter and no phone, toilets or dedicated parking.

The council has no legal obligation to provide facilities for a commercial bus operation. Many councils around New Zealand do, however, provide such a facility (under commercial terms) as they recognise that a well-functioning bus terminal is a very important piece of city infrastructure.

About 12 months ago, I asked the CEO of Intercity Buses what it would take for his company to move back to the Napier Travel Centre on Monroe St. His primary request was that all buses (not just Intercity) be required to come and go from the Napier Travel Centre (two bus companies currently leave from the i-Site on the Marine Pde). Sounded fair enough, I thought. I then approached Mayor Arnott, and she seemed interested in pursuing this. However, Napier City Council CEO Neil Taylor refused this simple request (NCC has the power to require those buses using the Marine Pde to shift to the Napier Travel Centre). Considering the cost to the NCC was negligible, I was astounded and disappointed. Here was an opportunity to remove all buses from the Marine Pde and the Dalton St shambles, relocate them to a facility that residents and tourists have told me they are happy with, and end this debate once and for all.

Move forward to today: the Napier Travel Centre has now been leased to another group, we still have buses in Marine Pde and Dalton St, as well as many unhappy residents and dumbfounded tourists. No, the council has no legal obligation to come up with a solution to this mess, but in my view it does have a duty to do so. Stuart NashLabour MP, Napier

Fears unfounded

During the past week, several texts and letters have been published which refer to water meters being installed in Hastings. Some of these have suggested that this is the beginning of universal water metering and charging for water supply in Hastings.

I am writing to assure you that this couldn't be further from the truth.

Meters are being installed at 500 random locations throughout Hastings in an effort to gain accurate data on water usage and other factors such as loss of water from the network.

This data must accurately reflect the way that our community uses water so we can plan effectively for our future.

Water is one the most valuable resources we have in Hawke's Bay. Our regional economy is extremely reliant on it, particularly in the primary sector. The supply is not endless and, as part of this, we need to be continually seeking new ways where we can conserve water or use it smarter.

This research will help us in this regard and ensure the continuity of water supply to residents and industry on an ongoing basis.

Can I again assure our residents that the Hastings District Council is not considering the universal metering of our water supply.Lawrence Yule Mayor of Hastings