Readers views: What's wrong with the buses

After reporting yesterday how more passengers were causing problems for bus companies, we asked for bus-riders' views

EAST COAST BAYS

Barbara Hood

Bus route: Mairangi Bay to CBD

Lately we have been getting buses with fewer seats on the 863 run at 7.05am and 5.10pm. Some mornings, if the 6.50am is early or late, as it often is, our bus is overcrowded and we have had people standing from the beginning of Shakespeare Rd. I believe the next bus is also very crowded.

With the number of university students catching the bus at the moment, a lot of full-fare passengers are not getting seats! I work a long day and I am sure the other workers (men and women) do too. Standing on the bus coming to work or going home is not something we expect.

DEVONPORT

Maureen McMillan

I have sympathy for those who have waited while full buses go flying past, and can't help wondering why the bus companies do not rent or buy several small 16-seater vans to run short fill-up journeys - to pick up passengers at bus stops near the city where they must know people are waiting.

In Mexico City there are small buses like this. Each one is painted a different colour depending on which route it takes so that you can tell at a glance whether the bus is going in the direction you wish to go.

AVONDALE

Phoebe Te Pania

Bus route: Avondale to city

To make it to work on time, I leave home at 6.30am to walk to Avondale Rd to catch the 7.40am 102 Downtown from Patiki Rd. This usually gets me to work between 7.15am and 7.30am for an 8am start. I have to catch this bus because there is no guarantee the next one, 102 Downtown, leaving at 7.10am will get me to work in time.

MT EDEN

Gail Griffin

Bus route: Three Kings to city

I travelled by bus to various jobs throughout my working life of over 30 years. I have always encouraged others to use the buses, but in the past few months I am wondering why I continue to do so. The buses do not run to any advertised timetable, and I waste so much time waiting in the wet, etc.

The Three Kings to City route is advertised as a frequent service, but I leave home to get the 6.45am bus due at Mt Eden Village at 6.50am. It has regularly gone past my stop as early as 6.50 with very few passengers. My next bus, the 7am, is these days quite full (the passengers destined for the 6.45 and the regulars) and now gets into town late after 7.30.

As for going home, it regularly takes an hour. I can be at the Commerce St stop by 4.03, but I regularly wait until 4.30, 4.35, 4.40 for a bus to get in and load up. Where do the timetabled other buses get to?

NEW WINDSOR

Erin Rolton

Bus route: Sandringham Rd to city

I too have waited in the city on Symonds St (just past Grafton Bridge) for an average of 45 minutes (shortest wait 30 minutes; longest an hour) while buses drive past without stopping as they are full (248, 243, 233 from 3.30 to 4.30 and often later). My stop is the fourth or fifth out from town. This happened over the whole of March.

In the mornings I am more fortunate as I catch the bus in New Windsor - I am grateful to be able to get on some buses as many of them are fairly full long before we reach Sandringham Rd.

They are usually late. I can live with that. What frustrates me most is how they are always full. My tactics are now to walk to bus stops a few earlier than the ones closest to where I work/live so that I can actually get on the bus!

I still get home late - but at least I get some exercise.

HILLSBOROUGH

Sheryl Warren

Bus route: Hillsborough to city

I would like to take the bus but the reason I take my car is because of the slack service the bus company provides.

I have found that it is illegal to have more than 19 people standing in the aisle. Most days when I catch the bus I have counted 23 to 26 people standing, with at least six crammed next to the driver so if he brakes heavily they end up smacking into the windscreen or piled on top of each other. Some people also end up standing in the door wells. We all know how dangerous this is.

I was told to take the bus number and time and make a complaint ... fat lot of good that is, the police can't enforce this unless they actually catch the bus doing it - how often have you seen a policeman pulling a bus over?

Most of the buses run at least 15 to 30 minutes behind.

It's faster, safer and cheaper to take my car! It costs me a total of $6.60 to take the bus per day, whereas to park in town costs a mere $7 a day plus petrol of about $3.

TE ATATU

Moana Hadfield

School bus route: Northwest Motorway

My children have been catching a bus for two years which connects with another bus that gets them to school. I have constantly complained to Stagecoach as the first bus has been late four days out of five for the past two months. This is the first bus from downtown to Te Atatu South every day and should leave town at 7.15am. Because it does an earlier run at 6.15am into town, the traffic is holding it up and doesn't even get to town till 7.45am, so how is it supposed to leave at 7.15am?

My children now have to walk a further half-mile and leave half an hour earlier at 7am to catch their connecting bus, sometimes having to use Ritchie's as Stagecoach are late. That costs more - Ritchie's don't use Stagecoach bus passes.

The bus lane along the Northwest Motorway does not seem to help at all.

ST HELIERS

Jo-Anne Baines

Bus route: St Heliers to city

My colleague and I are both 45 plus and to save pollution decided to bus into the city from St Heliers and Kohimarama. This year we have not been able to get a seat, and many times the bus simply passes us!

At this point the bus is filled with young people who have obviously not learned that it is courtesy to give their seat up for older people. People in their 60s have to stand all the way to the city.

A trip which is meant to take 20 minutes now takes almost 45 (if you're lucky enough to get on in the first place).

So every car streaming into the city with one person is probably doing so because of the bad bus service.

For heaven's sake put on more buses and build a bus lane along Tamaki Drive.

PARNELL

Rowan Hick

Bus Route: Parnell to city

Parnell to K'Rd by bike at 8am: 10 to 12 minutes.

Parnell to K'Rd by Link at 8am (wet day): 50 to 60 minutes.

The are only two problems with biking in the morning. One is the obvious, getting horribly wet. The other is throwing up going up Parnell Rise as a Link bus passes you with the "clean air" exhaust emissions directed straight into your face.

One wet morning you decide to take the bus. One hour later you get to work.

Tax the heck out of inner-city drivers, put bus exhausts on the roof (and actually provide true clean air emissions), and give us cyclists carbon credits and free life/health insurance.

LINK

Roger Sailouie

Bus Route: Beach Rd to Parnell Rd

I recently waited 40 minutes to catch a Link bus from Beach Rd to the top of Parnell Rd. They are scheduled to run every 10 minutes. When the bus finally arrived at my stop there was standing room only. Three persons disembarked; when I went to get on the driver shut the door in my face with a dismissive wave.

I set off on foot on the 20-minute walk to my destination along the Link route. In that time not less than six Link buses passed me, most less than half-full.

I lodged an official complaint to the Stagecoach website, but never had the courtesy of a reply, even though the website guaranteed a quick response.