A proposal that would see Rotorua's 11 bus routes consolidated into five will soon be considered for adoption.
A Bay of Plenty Regional Council public transport committee meeting this week will consider feedback from public consultation on the proposal, which ran from April 26 to May 24.
A report for the meeting, written by council service planning and project delivery team leader Oliver Haycock, said the Rotorua bus network "refresh" would improve access to Central Mall and other inner-city locations, and would "broadly" provide the same network coverage.
The report will be presented to elected members to provide them with the initial findings of public consultation, following a "comprehensive campaign" for public feedback, which attracted at least 196 responses.
The council expects the number will be higher once all are processed.
Proposed inner city bus loop and bus stops. Photo / Supplied
The network had not been changed since 2016 and was under review due to concerns about a long-term decline in bus use, Haycock's report said. It would change the names of bus routes in the city from numerical to colour-coded alphabetical names.
Haycock's report said the service changes were not expected to require additional revenue, but capital funding would be needed for five new bus stops.
"Identification of this funding will require joint working with Rotorua Lakes Council (who have some funding in the Long-term Plan) and Waka Kotahi."
Summarising the feedback, his report said there was support for Route A – which would replace most of the current Route 10.
Respondents were asked to provide their preference between a route that went directly to and from the airport and city via Te Ngae Rd, or one that included Vaughan Rd. Respondents preferred option 2, which included Vaughan Rd.
The council had also floated aligning bus times with airport arrivals and departures but some respondents expressed concern this would be "confusing", an attached briefing by Haycock stated.
He said there was "mixed feedback" for Routes B and D.
Route B – Ngongotahā to Tihi-o-Tonga via the city - replaced current routes 1, 11 and 12.
Forty-four per cent of the 39 respondents said they would be very likely or likely to use Route B, but 41 per cent said they would not. Almost half of the "negative" responses were from people who did not currently use the bus, the briefing said.
The current Rotorua bus network. Photo / Supplied
Some respondents wanted the council to retain Western Rd and Frances and Hood Streets on the route, it said. Their removal from the route was proposed to "improve journey times" and had experienced low demand, but the council proposed to revisit routing in the area in light of the feedback.
Route D - Kawaha Point and Selwyn Heights into the CBD and then on to Sunnybrook and Westbrook – would replace routes 4 and 6 and parts of routes 5 and 8.
Forty-six per cent of the 24 respondents said they would be very likely or likely to use the proposed route, while 42 per cent said they would not. Some suggested the route incorporate the hospital, Haycock's report said.
There was also support, according to Haycock's report, for Route C – Mitchell Downs to Springfield via the city – and Route E – Holdens Bay to the city via Lynmore.
Route C would replace routes 7 and 9 and parts of routes 5 and 8, while Route E replaced route 3 and extended to serve Holdens Bay.
The proposal also included five new central-city bus stops and the removal of two on either side of the Amohia St extension into the Central Mall carpark.
Two of the new bus stops would be placed outside the front of the mall on each side of Amohau St. The other three were proposed for the north side of Arawa St, the east of Fenton St between Eruera and Hinemoa Sts, and the west side of Amohia St between Pukuatua and Haupapa Sts.
Haycock's briefing to elected members said there was "some pushback" from businesses on the northbound sides of Amohia and Arawa Sts.
Haycock's briefing said the council would now finish analysing the responses and consider changes to proposed routing and stop locations.
It is expected council officers will bring the finalised proposal back to elected members for approval in September.
Once that decision is made, it is expected new timetables will be released late this year, with changes to begin in the summer of 2022 – 2023.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council public transport committee meeting will be held on Thursday, 9.30am at the regional council buildings at 1 Elizabeth St, Tauranga. The meeting is open to the public and can also be viewed via the regional council's Youtube channel.
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