Buses are for car owners too: Horizons Regional Council’s Rachel Keedwell

An electric bus and information about the new service were on display at the Albert Street Market on Saturday.

OPINION

I’m looking forward to our new Palmerston North bus network, which will start operating on March 4. You might have already seen two of the new electric buses being driven around Palmy or at the markets. They look great and will soon be joined by another 40 buses that were manufactured in China.

With this upcoming change to our network, I’ve had lots of conversations about buses lately, and I am fascinated by the number of people who have never considered taking a bus. I was at a dinner not that long ago when I mentioned something about my last trip into town on the bus and the person I was talking to was genuinely surprised I would take the bus and thought it was an admirable thing to do. I think it is a rather ordinary thing to do, so I asked him why he thought that way. He answered that because I had a car, I would have no reason to take the bus.

After talking about the advantages of the new network and how taking the bus means you don’t have to find or pay for parking and can reduce your car running costs and congestion, not to mention the health and environmental benefits, my dinner companion was keen to try taking the bus when the new network is up and running.

I think some people don’t realise it is not an all-or-nothing choice where you either always take the bus or you own a car. There are lots of trips where taking the bus is an easy option, and other trips where it is just not practical, and everything in between. For some people, the bus will never be an option for getting to work, whether it is because they need a vehicle to carry their tools, or they are on shift work - but the more people who do take the bus, the less congestion there is on the roads for those who need to drive, particularly at peak times.

This new network aims to shift Palmy away from the notion that using the bus is for those who have no other transport option towards the view that taking the bus is a quick and easy way to travel. When buses run every 15 minutes during peak times, you almost don’t need a timetable. And the hours are extended into the evenings and on weekends.

The fare structure has also changed, so once you have spent $16 for the week, all subsequent trips that week on the Palmy network are free. This means if an adult commutes to work on the bus each day, they would only need to pay for four return trips to work and the fifth day, plus any other trips would be free.

So if you are like my dinner companion and would consider taking the bus, or you think your kids or other family members will benefit from doing so, check out horizons.govt.nz to see where the new routes will go. And to make it even easier for you to try out the new buses, fares are free for the entire first month! Spread the word and make March the month to try something a bit different – see you on board the bus!

Dr Rachel Keedwell is the chairwoman of Horizons Regional Council.