
The Raglan bus meeting held at the Raglan Town Hall rejected suggestions by the Waikato Regional Council to add more buses, put up fares and increase property rates. The meeting was attended by over 50 bus users, parents of bus users and residents. Representatives from Waikato Regional Council, Waikato District Council and the NZ Transport Agency. The Ministry of Education rejected a request to attend the meeting and said that the bus was not their responsibility.
At the meeting Nadine Johnston presented a petition signed by over 200 people to the Waikato Regional Council which said:
Issues around the 7.05am Bus from Raglan and the 3.45pm Bus to Raglan, this year there has been serious issues of overcrowding that are not being dealt with by the Go bus service or Environmental Waikato.
We are voicing our dissatisfaction and concern with regard to this and the apparent lack of any attempt to the matter being rectified.
These buses carry school Students and adult paying fares.
There are also many back packers with a large amount of backpacks and surf boards that the bus is inadequately trying to cope with.
The Bus has inadequate hand straps for the standing clients to hold and we are aware that the Te Awamutu and Cambridge Buses do have. The Raglan bus route is far more difficult for a passenger to stand in as the road is very difficult with the deviation and the continuous sharp corners the bus has to negotiate. Every day there are standing passengers on these buses and the current poles to hold on to are not enough,
This needs fixing urgently by installing the appropriate holding straps attached to a rail.
Recently 7th Mar 2012 the bus was potentially overcrowded so at least 10 passengers from the city and 2 from Dinsdale were told that they would have to wait 2 hours for the next bus.
On the bus students in particular were handed a pamphlet stating that their parents were to be aware of the overcrowding and to make sure that they have actually caught the bus as if there is not enough room they will be left on the side of the road or at the depot to wait 2 hours for the next bus, if they are later than expected getting home due to not being able to catch the 3.40pm bus the overloading was the problem and they were asked to wait for the next bus.
This is not the first time this has happened and the problem is getting worse.
While we are very grateful for the service that is provided it is not enough.
The Service is not coping with the passengers and this issue needs to be addressed urgently
We the signed are requesting urgent attention to the problems that are affecting this service
Paula Southgate from Waikato Regional Council said that she was there to listen and would take action. Several people pointed out that these issues were not new and had been raised by WRC previously. WRC suggested that possible ‘solutions’ were:
- A small van, carrying a 10 to 15 people, could operate during the school term for about $70,000 a year.
- A larger, older bus without air conditioning and a capacity of up to 4 people could operate during the school term for an additional cost of about $115,000 a year.
- The departure time of the weekday Hamilton-Raglan bus could be changed from 8.3oam to 10.3oam. It would give backpackers getting off 10am coaches an earlier choice of bus and could potentially reduce numbers by about six on the 3.40pm Hamilton-Raglan service. This timetable change would result in the 9.30am Raglan-Hamilton bus departing instead at 11.30am.
The cost of any of these options would have to be recovered from the Raglan community either through a targeted rate and/or increased fares.
There are a number of other options we’ve considered. Unfortunately, extending the distance travelled by already busy Hamilton city bus services operating every 30 minutes is not possible. Meanwhile, regional and district councilors are actively looking for a long-term solution to this issue by working with the Ministry of Education and NZTA.
WRC were questioned on the cost of running the service. They were unable to answer these questions. But local transport operator Dave Brown asnwered the questions for them. He suggested that a small second-hand bus or using a taxi mini bus from Glen Tui Rd to Hamilton would be a temporary solution as there were on average 10 people waiting every morning from this road to the Hamilton boundary. A WDC public meeting being held in the Whatawhata area on the 24th April will discuss this proposal.
Noel Smith from WDC and Paula Southgate from WRC said they would quickly look to see if this option was possible. Both confirmed that small amounts of funding were available. When Cr Smith suggested that a special arte might be needed and why should people in other areas pay for Raglan buses it was pointed out by John Lawson that Raglan people pay for the roads in all parts of the District.
The meeting was organised by the Raglan Community Board.
It was Paula who said she was looking for a solution before the next school term starts. In response Noel said, “Can I just take a reality check? That, whilst I don’t normally disagree with Paula too often. Two and a half weeks is totally unrealistic.” It seems the Chair of WDC’s roading committee (despite being member for the Whatawhata passengers who get left behind) is in no hurry to get anything done, even though an interim solution could probably come out of petty cash. It’s a pity that our councillor, Clint Baddeley, closed the meeting soon after that and didn’t allow the public to pursue the point. Let’s see what happens, or whether it gets the same priority as another roading safety concern, the roadside footpath to Manu Bay.
Although the cost of the Glen Tui – Hamilton service is likely to be low, it is unbudgeted expenditure for WDC. Because of that Cr Smith will need to take to it to his Roading committee for approval. Although he didn’t say that, my guess is that is the reason for the delay. Also he was probably being realistic about how slow WRC will be. Everybody needs to keep making WRC and WDC aware that the need is urgent.
The Long Term Plan out today says there’s $6,000 in the contingency fund. Dave said a minbus to Glentui Rd would cost $45. For the 5 occasions so far it’d have cost $225. In the longer term the money could be recouped from reducing the Raglan airfield subsidy. The bus was planned to have a 60% subsidy, but that’s probably below 50%. The airfield gets a 70% subsidy, with fees planned to grow at 50 cents a year. Putting the landing fee up to $20 would bring in over $15,000 a year, which would pay for over 300 minibus trips.
“In the longer term the money could be recouped from reducing the Raglan airfield subsidy. The airfield gets a 70% subsidy, with fees planned to grow at 50 cents a year. Putting the landing fee up to $20 would bring in over $15,000 a year, which would pay for over 300 minibus trips.”
The suggestion is a good one. I understand the Council pays something like $10,000 to mow the airfield. I would like to see the landing fee increased to at least the cost of a tank of fuel. Glider flights cost more than $50 each!
Further revenue for public transport could be collected at the boat ramps for launching and parking. Parking fees for boat trailers and coffee visitors at the rugby ground, wharf, Te Kopua could be collected. This way visitors to Raglan are contributing to the services provided.