Hip hop group, MP and councillor call for return of Onehunga bus route

Labour list MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan and hundreds of others have signed a petition asking AT to restore bus route 312 which connected several suburbs to the city centre. Photo / Lynda Feringa

What do an MP, a hip hop group, a youth group and an councillor have in common?

They and hundreds of other Aucklanders all want Auckland Transport to restore an "iconic" bus route that connects several suburbs to the city centre.

The 'Save the 312' campaign launches on Saturday beginning at 3.12pm, at The 312 Hub in Onehunga.

The campaign is led by The 312 hub, an Onehunga-based youth-led hub, local rap group SWIDT, Labour List MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Maungakiekie-Tamaki councillor Josephine Bartle.

For them the bus route was a lifeline for the community and a cultural symbol.

Auckland Transport (AT) cut the 312 bus route in July, following consultation with local communities that took place in 2016.

The severed route affected around 200 people according to Auckland Transport but more than 100 people had personally contacted Radhakrishnan and Bartle about the issue, Radhakrishnan said.

Although AT said it was only 200 people affected, a petition that had garnered more than 800 signature suggested otherwise, Radhakrishnan said.

"The numbers don't seem to add up."

Onehunga hip-hop lads SWIDT have put their support behind the campaign. Photo /Chris Schulz

AT had added in new services, routes 295, 298 and 70, but the change had presented several difficulties for the local community.

Increased travel times were cutting into family time, costs were increased, waits for buses were longer and the severance of the route made it difficult to easily access Auckland city.

A petition had been started to restore the bus route, seeking 1000 signatures it had already gathered more than 800.

"Many residents have told us that they now spend much more time commuting to work and school and less time with family as a result of the decision to cut the 312 bus route", Radhakrishnan said.

"I support what the new bus network is trying to achieve. However, public transport should be affordable, accessible and efficient so that people are benefitted by using it.

"What's happened here with the only direct route to the city being cut, is the opposite. Residents are spending more time and money to get to and from work and school."

The petition will be delivered to Auckland Transport on the Third day of the twelfth month (3/12/2018).

The introduction by Auckland Transport of new bus networks being rolled out across the city has led to several complaints.

Parents are being urged to overturn the axing of school buses after Auckland Transport reduced dedicated school buses and made school children catch regular public transport, leading to some parents pulling their children off buses and driving them to school.

Elderly people have complained about changes to the cross-town service between Selwyn Village in Pt Chevalier and Glen Innes.

The service no longer goes into the Greenlane Medical Centre, but drops elderly patients at a bus stop outside the hospital gates on one of the city's busiest roads.