It’s time we had a bus to the airport

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

by Jack Marshall

Throughout my travels, I’ve discovered that the world’s greatest cities have public transport from the airport. It’s time Gisborne joined their ranks. 

Jack Marshall

In London, public transport was an adventure. I leapt on to the train and sipped tea all the way to King’s Cross station. In Sydney, it was scenic. On my way to Manly, I stepped off a train and on to a ferry that cruised around the iconic Opera House. Catching public transport can be enjoyable.

We may not be London or Sydney, but with a 500m shift to a bus stop, Gisborne can join the world’s best cities. Right now the Gizzy Bus 1B service cruises down Chalmers Road until Aerodrome Road, basically waving at Air New Zealand passengers before dashing away down a backstreet without saying hello. How rude.

A small change to the route would let the bus dip into the airport, pick up those passengers, and plonk them closer to home. It’s both a good idea and the perfect time to undertake the change — for two reasons.

First, a big change is coming to New Zealand. From this year, Aotearoa is saying haere ra to complexity and kia ora to simplicity: we’re getting ticketless travel with the introduction of a National Ticketing Solution. The change will mean boarding the bus will become exceedingly easy – a simple wave of your credit card or smartphone will be all you need to pay.

The second reason is that the council is renegotiating the Gizzy Bus contracts this year. These are the contracts that decide the bus route changes, contract costs, and funding levels. And let’s not forget it is in everyone’s best interest to increase bus patronage: The buses are paid for by the ratepayer, so we may as well get bang for our buck.

Apart from it being good timing, it’s also high time we thought harder about how our manuhiri first experience our city when they touch down at Gisborne Airport.

Being birthed from the safety of a temperature-controlled plane into your uncensored destination is a violent and lasting introduction.

I still remember the heat when I arrived in Rarotonga as a seven-year-old when each passenger was gifted a flower necklace on arrival. I can remember almost every time I’ve flown into a new country. The spiciness of India. The humidity of Singapore. First encounters are touchstones in memory, and it’s time we gave visitors a better introduction.

Tairāwhiti is blessed with a landscape that captures visitors even before their plane lands. Passengers curl about the sky, gliding over the hills, spotting our beaches beyond the tarmac. Touchdown complete, fresh air in their lungs, they step into our beautiful airport. But walking out of the building, the next step can prove difficult.

If you don’t have a ride, a taxi is the only sensible, if expensive, option to get home. There’s not even a footpath to take you away by foot.

A quick look on Air New Zealand’s website shows there are six flights a day into Gisborne. Five of those flights are during Gizzy Bus’s operating hours. Without adding any extra services, a bus could be at the airport for nearly every flight that came into Gisborne.

You could get home without a phone call for a ride or a hefty taxi fare. It’s time for a bus to the airport. Right now, the council is asking for feedback on public transport. Go to participate.gdc.govt.nz to have a say, and this time next year we could have the wheels on the bus going to the airport.