Readers prompt bus action

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Stagecoach is promising to beef up management of its inner-city Link service in response to complaints from Herald readers, some of whom have waited 40 minutes to catch buses which are supposed to run at 10-minute intervals.

A "real-time approach" is also being adopted to space buses better and to provide more regular service, says marketing manager Russell Turnbull.

A common complaint about the Link service is that after a lengthy wait, several buses arrive at once.

But what has prompted passengers on other city services to complain to the Herald is too few buses for passenger volumes - causing crowding, missed stops, long waits and periods of standing.

The Auckland Regional Council says bus operators are struggling to meet service demands as passenger numbers grow 7 per cent a year.

Its transport committee chairwoman, Catherine Harland, said although some issues had arisen, the system was effective in that it carried 167,000 passengers daily.

The council plans a $3.3 million increase this year in the public subsidy to provide extra services.

Mr Turnbull said users of some other Auckland services could expect improvements by the end of the month.

West Auckland road congestion had prompted a reviewed timetable.

"Peak travel times from New Lynn to Victoria St have lengthened from 40 minutes to 60 minutes in just one year," said Mr Turnbull.

"We need to look at what bus priority initiatives are possible on New North Rd, especially further out near Avondale and New Lynn."

From April 28, Express and Flyer buses would leave up to 15 minutes earlier to deliver reliable arrival times in the city.

Mr Turnbull said an extra 24 daily trips had been put on this year for West Auckland.

East Coast Bays morning commuters could expect bigger buses on some routes but he still could not guarantee seats for all.

Improvements for Avondale commuters included an extra route from Rosebank Rd and 24 extra bus trips a day on New North Rd.

In Mt Eden, Three Kings-Auckland City commuters would receive an extra bus at 7.15am and a more reliable evening peak service.

New Windsor passengers would get 19 extra trips a day for peak times.

Hillsborough Rd congestion would be solved only by extra bus priority measures, he said. An Express bus would be put on from April 28 in the morning peak.

In St Heliers, a new route 755 bus was leaving Glen Innes at 7am, which should ease loading problems and better serve Tamaki Drive.

Mr Turnbull said Express services for Papakura and Manukau were becoming more popular, and the company was pressing for more bus lanes on the Southern Motorway.