Comment from Kāpiti's Greater Wellington Regional Council representative Penny Gaylor
I hope you are all doing well in your lockdown bubble.
And for those essential workers who are ensuring we are safe and well, and fed, and to the MetLink drivers who continue to drive the trains and buses - an enormous thank you from all of us tucked up in our bubble.
Some interesting side-affects of us in lockdown is the improvement in air quality.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has released details on air quality for the first full week of lockdown which reveals a dramatic falls in pollutants across the whole region.
Traffic is light on the Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway. Photo / David Haxton
Levels at the Wellington City testing site show emissions dropped by 72 percent as a weekly average compared to the same period over the previous four years (2016-2019), while levels at the Upper Hutt station fell by 63 percent.
Sticking to news on the transport front, as part of the national response to Covid-19, NZTA is implementing a fare-reduction for Total Mobility customers.
Total Mobility customers will be able to access fully subsidised fares of up to $80 per trip, ensuring access to essential services and the ability for essential workers to access their workplace.
This fare reduction will be in place while New Zealand is at Covid-19 alert levels 3 and 4, up until 30 June 2020.
Existing Total Mobility rules and monitoring processes will continue to apply during this period and GWRC and Metlink will manage the demand for this service through their current eligibility assessment process.
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The fare, that would normally be paid by the customer, will be paid by Greater Wellington directly to the contracted transport service providers, with a claims process that allows more frequent payments to assist service providers in supporting their drivers.
The fare subsidy is for the transportation of Total Mobility customers with permanent disabilities only.
And finally, at GWRC we're encouraging backyard trappers to use their time in lockdown to keep the heat on rats, stoats and other predators.
Although a few of Greater Wellington's allies in the battle against pests, such as Predator Free Wellington and Wellington City Council, have also put pest control operations on hold, good work is still underway – and Greater Wellington is calling on residents to take up the challenge to do their part in their backyards.
This is a great opportunity to safely do your part for the environment while in isolation.
By simply setting a trap in your backyard, you can do your part to maintain all the hard work done to date by protecting our native species.
On the Greater Wellington's website you can access helpful resources to help with trapping at home.
Already there has been a fantastic response to Predator Free Wellington's campaign #LockDownKnockDown, which people can take part in online.
Setting and emptying traps is a great activity for all ages, especially while in isolation when everyone is looking for helpful ways to keep occupied.
Stay at home and do your bit to save lives, and help your community's biodiversity and natural environment.
If you're are an enthusiastic trapper and need help to identify a pest in your backyard, you can contact Greater Wellington on pest.animals@gw.govt.nz or contact Biosecurity New Zealand at 0800 80 99 66.
