Weekly column by Kāpiti's Greater Wellington Regional Council representative Penny Gaylor.
With the recent launch of Wellington Regional Council's On-Demand bus service in Tawa, I can assure Kāpiti Coasters that quicker than a swipe of your Snapper card I was pitching to roll it out in our community.
This bespoke approach to public transport is part of a 12-month Metlink trial in the suburb of Tawa, whereby using a mobile phone app designed by Via, people in Tawa can order rides from buses operating without set routes between flexible pick-up and drop-off locations, or 'virtual stops'.
Children under the age of 5 ride for free on the 17-seater buses being used in the trial, which can carry wheelchair passengers.
I've made sure that as the trial progresses, and as we look for the next opportunities to expand the trial, that communities such as Ōtaki are, literally, the next passengers benefiting.