Nicola Patrick says there are "pretty big gaps" in Whanganui's bus services. Photo / Bevan Conley
Nicola Patrick says there are "pretty big gaps" in Whanganui's bus services. Photo / Bevan Conley
An open letter calling for more investment in provincial public transport has found its way from Whanganui to New Zealand's Minister of Transport Michael Wood.
The driving force behind it is Horizons Regional councillor Nicola Patrick, who says 73 elected officials from Northland to Bluff are on board.
The lettercalls for a boost in the National Land Transport Fund allocation for public transport, low fares for all, and increased route frequency and hours of operation.
Convenient and affordable bus services were needed "as soon as possible".
"What I wanted to do was see if there were enough other elected people in provincial and rural places who actually want that sort of service again, and who are driven by addressing climate, but also addressing connectivity for people," Patrick said.
"When I think about climate action and what I can do as a regional councillor, the single biggest lever I've got is helping people out of their cars and into public transport."
She had been "very well reminded" by local public transport advocate Anthonie Tonnon, that up to the early 1990s, provincial centres around the country had thriving public transport sectors.
"It's only relatively recently that we've lost the level of service you get in big cities," Patrick said.
"What that means is some of our neighbours in Taihape or Taumarunui are not able to get around.
"There are hills, they don't have vehicles, or they can't ride a bike easily."
Patrick said the letter had been written independently, and it wasn't connected with her role at Horizons.
The letter itself states that Manawatū-Whanganui receives less than a 10th of the per person NZTA funding for public transport services - $10.19 compared to Auckland's $135.54 and Wellington's $175.41.
Nicola Patrick says public transport in provincial centres was healthy up until the early 1990's. Photo / Bevan Conley
It says an immediate and significant injection of new funds in Budget 2022 is needed to get more people onto buses in the regions.
"That $10.19 is an average for all of Manawatū-Whanganui, and Palmerston North gets the lion's share of it," Patrick said.
"Actually, our rate in Whanganui is less than that. For our smaller communities it's even smaller again."
As of this week, 38 different councils, community boards, and organisations have signed the letter.
Patrick said she'd missed a bus to Castlecliff on Wednesday, and the next one wasn't scheduled for another two hours.
"I was in Queenstown recently, and their buses go every 15 minutes and cost $2.
"In general, we've got some good basic services in Whanganui, and I know they are really appreciated by the people who use them regularly.
"There are still pretty big gaps between each service though, and to use it means referring to a timetable and working around your life and availability."
Waka Kotahi had significant project budgets for highways or funds tied up in land holdings, but making public transport more attractive to people living in the regions required relatively small amounts of new operational funds, the letter said.
"We can't do it alone – councils can't afford to fund public transport expansion in these difficult Covid times, plus it is slow, difficult and frustrating to make changes working only within current limitations."
Patrick said she had a Zoom meeting with Wood on Thursday morning.
"We had a really good discussion, I was really pleased.
"He is certainly a very thoughtful minister, and he appreciated hearing from people in the regions about this topic."
