The new stop for InterCity buses will be outside the tramshed in Taupō Quay. Photo / Bevan Conley
The new stop for InterCity buses will be outside the tramshed in Taupō Quay. Photo / Bevan Conley
After a stream of complaints from users, Entrada Travel Group is shifting its InterCity bus stop into central Whanganui.
The bus stop will move from semi-industrial Ridgway St to 29 Taupō Quay, outside the Tramshed and near the i-Site, on March 16.
Entrada Travel Group is pleased InterCity passengers willhave access to a new and improved bus stop in a more convenient, central location, general manager NZ Coachlines & Auckland Tourism Sam Peate said.
He's considering leasing out Entrada's Ridgway St property when it's no longer needed.
Whanganui District Council has helped with the move by installing two new covered bus shelters in Taupō Quay, alongside a stop long enough for two buses.
It is also to install twin Exeloo public toilets in the tramshed's storage area. They will be convenient for others, such as marketgoers and freedom campers, as well as bus travellers.
The council applied to a government Tourism and Infrastructure Fund, which provided half the money for the improvements.
Until the Exeloo is in place, the nearest public toilets are in the i-Site. They are often very busy, and are locked at 5pm.
The new bus stop is close to the river, i-Site, shops and restaurants.
Passengers board an Auckland bus at the Wanganui Travel Centre in Ridgway St. Photo / Bevan Conley
The current Wanganui Travel Centre InterCity bus stop in Ridgway St is the opposite. It is two blocks from Victoria Ave at the "sad" end of Ridgway St. Its isolated location means travellers waiting have worried about their safety.
Its indoor office is often not staffed, and toilets are only available when it is open. Outdoors there are two bench seats, and only one has a roof over it.
The Wanganui Travel Centre is in an isolated area of Ridgway St. Photo / Bevan Conley
This situation has sparked many letters to the Whanganui Chronicle. Janet Mace, a former resident who has used InterCity buses to travel to Whanganui weekly since 2018, began the charge and others have endorsed her sentiments.
When she last turned up to wait at Ridgway St, she found that someone had vomited on the concrete in front of the bus stop seats, possibly a day earlier.
"For a city that prides itself on its beauty and friendliness, the Wanganui Travel Centre provides a dismal, grubby and inadequate welcome," she said.
