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Waipukurau woman Te Ara Bergstrom believes there’s a better way for people travelling from Central Hawke’s Bay to the twin cities for work to save money and make the journey safer.
She has designed an app and website called Wakashare, to connect people who want to carpool to work,but struggle to connect with others heading in the same direction.
Bergstrom said she was trialling Wakashare with 24 volunteers, but expected to be able to launch it to the wider public afterwards.
She said the need for such a service came about around two years ago when “the petrol prices went sky high”.
She said there was often only one person in each vehicle in the snaking queue along State Highway 2, and if drivers could share the commute it would cut costs, vehicles on the roads, and increase road safety.
Te Ara Bergstrom said Wakashare would help people to connect.
She hoped the app could remove the obligation and awkwardness that came with privately organising to share a ride.
“The thought was if you had an app, if you could put your trips on or look for a trip, you’re only committed to that particular trip.”
She said drivers would be able to sign up to the website or app, and would be verified to transport passengers.
Passengers could search for the trip they wished to take, and drivers could set a price for the ride, based off a suggested amount.
“The driver can set the charge they want to, however it’s capped because ... it is a carpool app - not a taxi or Uber.”
Bergstrom said she was overwhelmed at the response she got after posting the trial to Facebook and had more than two dozen participants wanting to take part in the trial.
“We are after their feedback for what works and what doesn’t work.”
She said ultimately she wanted to help commuters travel in a safer and more economical way.
“A really tangible result would be to see next time they do a traffic count on that road that there is a significant reduction in vehicles.”
She suggested another way to help people on the roads was to have a passenger train service operating between Waipukurau and Hastings.
“I think there should be a regular train for people commuting from here - it would make a huge difference.”
Jane Budge, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council strategic governance manager, travels from Hastings to CHB every day for work.
She said the trip typically takes her about half an hour to Waipawa between 7.30am and 8am and from Waipawa around 4.30pm, though afternoon traffic is more variable.
“The other side of the road definitely has much more traffic.”
Budge said she had already carpooled with workmates in the past.
“I have carpooled with some others and I’m hoping to make it a bit more of a permanent factor.”
She said the number of households getting their income from out of the district had grown quite significantly.
“The last analysis that we have done we think that could be even more than 60% of residents who are getting income from outside of the district.”
She said people were largely commuting to Hastings or further afield, with 23% to 25% of the local workforce employed there.
Walker said people who worked outside the CHB district earned up to 15% more on average than they would if they were in the local workforce.
She said there was also a large number of people who travelled to CHB for work.
In 2022, half of the job vacancies in CHB were filled by locals and the other half from out of the district with 1700 people travelling from Hastings to CHB for work.
“I think it is a great initiative and it’s awesome to see that the community is stepping in to try and problem solve for themselves.”
“It would be great to see more people in less vehicles - that certainly would make the road a lot easier to navigate.”
Walker said she had advocated strongly for the expansion of public service transport options, to connect Waipukurau, Waipawa and Hastings through the Regional Public Transport Plan with a bus.
“In the current funding constraints, any trial for us to have a public transport connection has been delayed or downplayed.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
