Opinion: Speak up about public transport

An artist's impression of light rail in Wellington. Could this be an option for the Tararua District?

OPINION

I saw that Horizons Regional Council is asking for people in the region to tell them where they go and how they get there, as it reviews public transport.

This is part of a regional service review, which seems to be great on the surface, but the cynic in me wonders how much consideration they’ll be giving to the towns in the Tararua District.

If it comes down to demand, there could be a bit of a conundrum. Horizons could veto any moves to provide public transport in the district, saying there’s no demand. But if no one speaks up and tells them there is one, how are they to consider it?

To put this in another context, I discovered Kainga Ora had built two new homes in Dannevirke, but for more than 20 years there had been no Kāinga Ora presence in this district at all. The problem was that there didn’t seem to be a demand, because people weren’t registering for housing. But the reason people wouldn’t register for it was because they were told there was no public housing. So it’s a bit of a catch-22.

If we want public transport, regardless of whether or not it’s on the cards, we need to ask for it.

Do I think there is a demand? Absolutely. There are plenty of people who would love to be able to catch a bus over to Palmerston North to do some shopping for the day, without having to wait for the Intercity bus. Looking on the Intercity website, there appears to be only one bus on a weekday, which leaves at 11.30am and if you want to return on the same day, you have less than an hour to do what you want to do, which doesn’t leave a lot of time.

Horizons did a similar review last year and it was felt public transport was something the district sorely needed, not just between Palmerston North and the district’s towns, but also between towns, whether that was Dannevirke to Woodville, or Woodville to Pahiatua. Yes, we have the community car and the health shuttle, but those services are limited.

At the time of that review, I was tempted to make my own submission, suggesting light rail could be developed. The rail network is under-utilised for passenger trains (there is no passenger service to Hawke’s Bay) and I’ve seen what light rail can do in another country. I’ve also seen and used the public transport system in Auckland and while it’s far from perfect, it at least gets used on a frequent basis. Having had the convenience of either the train or the City Link between Newmarket and Auckland Central when I lived there, I’m all for public transport. It would be nice to not have to drive sometimes when visiting Palmy. Especially when you consider fuel costs and parking.

The point of all this is, if we want public transport in the Tararua District, we need to speak up. If they don’t know what they want, how are they meant to provide it?

Don’t sit back and wait for someone else to say it. Have your say. https://haveyoursay.horizons.govt.nz/connect-dots-regional-services-review-2023