Bus services under council scrutiny

Getting a better understanding of the inter-city bus services and how to get the best from those services will be discussed by Horizons Regional councillors when they consider their long-term plan in a few weeks' time.

Late last year the council surveyed Wanganui people about what they thought of a council-run bus service between here and Palmerston North.

The idea had been flagged at a passenger transport committee meeting in August and Wanganui District councillor Jack Bullock and Horizons councillor Rod Pearce were part of that discussion.

Mr Bullock said then the service could be helpful for people who commute to Palmerston North for work and those who have friends and family there.

Horizons transport manager Phil Hindrup says if the idea is popular it could lead to a trial service.

The survey aimed to find if such a service would be well utilised, when it would need to run and how much people would be willing to pay.

Mr Pearce said he had pushed for the feasibility study and submissions from the public will be considered when Horizons works through its long-term plan.

"There are a lot of buses running between Wanganui and Palmerston North now and we need to make sure we're getting the best possible use out of existing services," he said.

Mr Pearce hoped to see far greater use of buses services Horizons runs within Wanganui city.

"I've spoken to people in Aramoho and Castlecliff about the buses we run and some of them say they didn't know the services were there.

"These buses are running at about 45 per cent capacity and I'm disappointed more people aren't using them," he said.

Horizons' passenger transport committee will continue looking at options for an inter-city service but instead of approving funds for a 12-month trial, it voted to investigate incorporating the service into existing bus routes such as the UCOL inter-campus service, intercity buses and school buses.

The Manawatu Standard said the survey of Wanganui residents showed strong support for a service between the cities with 74.6 per cent of respondents saying they would use the service.

But asked how often they might use the service, 46.7 per cent said only once or twice a month.

There were already five buses each weekday between Palmerston North and Wanganui, and five in the other direction.