Ratepayers are having to contribute almost $2 million towards the cost of running Tauranga's BayHopper bus service.
Ratepayers are having to contribute almost $2 million towards the cost of running Tauranga's BayHopper bus service.
Less than a third of the $9.3 million contract cost to run Tauranga's BayHopper bus service is being recovered from users, with city ratepayers chipping in nearly $2 million.
Figures for the year ending June 30 showed that fares totalled nearly $2.8 million including SuperGold Card pensioner payments of $440,000.It meant that the total income from passengers was 30 per cent of the contractor's cost to operate the service.
The rest of the $6.5 million was funded from New Zealand Transport Agency and council subsidies. But despite buses being heavily subsidised, data presented at this week's meeting of the regional council's public transport committee showed that patronage on most city bus routes was within guidelines.
Ten of the 12 routes were performing within the threshold needed to maintain the services without change. Buses needed to average 12 to 24 passengers per in-service hour, giving them the flexibility to be nearly full in peak times and nearly empty at some other times of the day.
No changes will be made to the Papamoa East to CBD service which was marginally below passenger minimums. The Lakes to Greerton route was averaging one or two passengers per hour, but with the hourly service only six months old it was decided to keep it running to see how development at The Lakes would impact on patronage.
Tauranga's urban bus service showed a slight decline in passengers over the previous year. Patronage of 1.86 million for the 12 months was down by 43,000 or 2 per cent. The frequency of weekend bus services in Tauranga was the overwhelming low point in the latest customer satisfaction survey carried out by the regional council.
Only 33 per cent of passengers surveyed were satisfied with BayHopper's weekend timetable in which buses generally ran to an hourly schedule rather than half-hourly or better during weekdays. Passengers were more satisfied with the frequency of weekday services and the ability of buses to keep to timetables, with satisfaction at 70 per cent.
Small timetable changes will include pushing forward by five minutes the 3.10pm arrival at the bus stop opposite Tauranga Boys' College.
* New Zealand Transport Agency: $3.2 million * Bus passengers: $2.8 million * Tauranga ratepayers' regional transport rate: $1.9 million * Bay of Plenty Regional Council: $1.3 million * Back-of-bus advertising: $40,000
