Consistency, reliability key for commute

SURVEY: Alastair Scott says there is strong support for Wi-Fi on trains.

There is strong support for WiFi installation on trains serving the Wairarapa line, says Alastair Scott.

Commuter survey results released by the Wairarapa MP show 92.5 per cent of people wanted WiFi installed on the trains.

The survey indicated people were generally satisfied with the attractiveness of the service and considered it to be "appropriately safety conscious".

"Commuting is quite an important part of our electorate," Mr Scott said.

"People are wanting the services to be reliable, timely and consumer friendly.

"The amount of people wanting WiFi was higher than I expected, though one of the major issues that the survey results showed was about timeliness."

Mr Scott posted the survey results to Facebook on Tuesday, saying: "Consistency and reliability was reported as an issue, with 29.4 per cent indicating they felt the service was 'usually' or 'always' reliable', 38.8 per cent said 'sometimes' reliable, while 26.1 per cent reported that they felt it was 'rarely' or 'never' consistent and reliable.

"While some felt that the prices should be lower, 67.9 per cent of you indicated no negativity towards the costs."

Other survey questions included whether people were in favour of having alcohol served on trains, to which 77.7 per cent said they would not want this feature to be implemented. However, many said they would like other beverages to be sold.

"Additional feedback was extremely valuable," Mr Scott said.

"Common suggestions included double-tracking to Upper Hutt being moved forward, replacing/fixing carriages and rolling stock chassis so there would be less delays and breakdowns, more regular services in the evenings and weekends, better communication between train services and commuters, and more commuter input at the GWRC/Metlink to ensure customer focus is priority."

Mr Scott will present the survey results to Greater Wellington Regional Council.