Ask Phoebe: Gimme shelter - Who pays for repairs

The responsibility for repairs and costs lies on the owner of the smashed panels.

I would dearly love to know who continues to pay for the repair to smashed bus shelters. One that I know about is smashed about once a month or so, and if you multiply that by the number of bus shelters around the city ... well, you get the picture. James Russell, Pt Chevalier.

The responsibility for repairs and costs lies on the owner of the smashed panels.

Bus shelter design and placement is the responsibility of Auckland Transport (of this, more later).

In some bus shelters, there are advertisements on the side and back panels. These are placed under contract by AdShel, and if broken or damaged, AdShel must repair or replace them. You can contact AdShel on 0800-237-435 to notify them of any damage.

Other bus shelters (with, say, earth, air and sky depictions on them, or just plain glass) belong to AT and they mend or replace them. AT can be contacted on (09) 355-3553.

Bus shelters are normally placed at "busy" bus stops. (There is an argument that bus stops become busy when a shelter is added). AT tries to focus on bus stop locations that are busy across the day, which is why stops that mainly serve school buses don't always have shelters.

On frequent bus routes, AT tries to provide shelters at every stop. The primary focus is on the inbound direction of travel because people have to wait for a bus. In the afternoon and evening, bus stops in the suburbs are typically drop-off stops, so there is less need for a shelter. In the city and suburban town centres, AT tries to cater for locations where many passengers will have to wait. Often when a bus shelter appears to be missing, it is because there is not sufficient space and it is not possible to move the bus stop to a better location nearby.

A new style of bus stop was trialled in Symonds St last year, and public feedback was collected on aspects such as comfort, safety and visual appeal. As well, it was hoped the new consistent design would reduce maintenance costs by reducing the number of parts required for maintenance. It was hoped the rollout of the new shelters would begin early this year, but I have not heard that this has begun.

One can now cycle off-road from St Heliers to the Henderson interchange - almost. There is no sign of the section between the Te Atatu Interchange and the Henderson Creek bridge being started, let alone completed, but there is a new cycleway bridge over the creek and a great new section from the bridge to Lincoln Rd. When will the missing section be completed? Ross Stewart, Epsom.

A spokeswoman for NZTA says that the missing part of the Northwestern cycleway between Henderson Creek Bridge and Te Atatu Rd is expected to be completed around November. Regular updates are posted on the Cycle Action Auckland Facebook page and through Te Atatu project updates.

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