Kiri Gillespie: Bus stop security not exclusively a regional council problem, time Tauranga City stepped up

Security pictured in 2021 at the Willow Street bus stop. Photo / George Novak

OPINION

The management structure for the public transport network in the Bay of Plenty surprises some people.

I’ve often heard feedback over the years from people complaining Tauranga City Council needs to do this or that for whichever bus issue is the topic of that day. Many wrongly assume the city or Western Bay of Plenty District Council is in charge of the public transport network.

In reality, it’s the Bay of Plenty Regional Council that oversees the buses – where they go, how many there are, and how much it should cost people to get onboard.

It’s also the regional council that has been funnelling about a million dollars every 12 months into security services to ensure local bus stops are safe after a spate of violent, anti-social and threatening behaviour in recent years.

And it’s worked.

A Public Transport Committee meeting last weekheard the number of incidents at bus stops had “greatly reduced”. Previously, drivers and passengers told the Bay of Plenty Times they feel much safer thanks to the security presence.

Now, a regional councillor wants the city to pay some of the cost.

It’s understandable.

The regional council oversees the delivery of bus services but the city council is responsible for public transport infrastructure – bus stops, signage, bus lanes, etc.

But the city council has not been paying for another crucial part of the infrastructure system – security. This is despite the issue involving Tauranga city safety and, at its peak, most security incidents unfolding on the city council’s then-Willow St doorstep at the CBD interchange - a core piece of the network’s infrastructure.

Bay of Plenty regional councillor Lyall Thurston. Photo / Andrew Warner

At that committee meeting, regional councillor and committee member Lyall Thurston sought answers from city commissioner and fellow committee member Stephen Selwood, saying: “We are carrying the costs at the moment, I understand, as a gesture to you Mr Commissioner”.

The city council’s response to this is likely to be heard at a Tauranga Public Transport Joint Committee on April 5.

In my view, it hardly seems fair the city council does not help share the security costs burdening the regional council.

Councillor Thurston has my sympathies.

The safety of people in the city is not a responsibility exclusive to the regional council.

If it’s decided that security services are still needed, then I believe it’s time the city council stepped up.