Horizons Regional Council seeks ideas to improve public transport

Communities thrive when everyone has equitable access to transport options, Horizons passenger transport committee chairman Sam Ferguson says.

Horizons Regional Council is asking people for their ideas on how public transport can connect the dots between communities living in and beyond the region.

Horizons passenger transport committee chairman Sam Ferguson says the Regional Services Review, running until September 11, is a chance to imagine the future of regional public transport.

“Many towns and cities dotted throughout the Horizons region are growing, leading to increased movement of people between those areas and into neighbouring regions. However, many people lack options for making those trips,” he says.

“Our vision for this review is for people to tell us what connections they make and why they make them. This will ensure future public transport routes give people the options they want to get to where they need to go.”

Horizons transport manager Mark Read says the Regional Services Review was committed to in Horizons’ latest Regional Public Transport Plan. The plan guides the delivery and design of public transport services, information and infrastructure in the Horizons region.

“The feedback we get from this review will feed into a variety of future initiatives we plan to carry out over the next 10 years,” Read says.

“We want people to tell us where they live, where they travel to and why they make those trips. We are also asking people to tell us how we should balance new spending against improved levels of services, and how we should prioritise passenger demand, the desire to cover large areas, and increasing services in line with an area’s population when deciding new routes.”

Go to haveyoursay.horizons.govt.nz to get more information, fill out a survey, and mark the trips you make on an interactive map.

There are also feedback forms attached to information pamphlets, which are available at service centres and on regional bus services. People can also email their ideas to transport@horizons.govt.nz.

“We are also planning on attending community events, such as weekend markets, so we can have face-to-face conversations with people and collect any ideas they have for regional public transport,” Read says.