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Mahurangi’s express commuter bus service to Auckland has upgraded to a 33-seater to meet demand.
Since starting 10 months ago with a 16-seater bus, passenger numbers on the Mahu City Express have continued to grow.
Owner/operator Julian Ostling says the upgrade was necessary because the 16-seater was over booked every day
“Numbers have been on average about 21 per ride on the bigger bus,” he says.
Julian says he is currently training a new driver with the idea of launching a second service, utilising the small bus, this month.
“We will then be able to offer a wider range of travel times to meet demand. It seems there is a crowd who would like to be in the city closer to 8am, rather than the current 8.30am arrival time, so we could cover both options.
“Similarly, we could offer a 5pm and 5.30 pm departure, or even earlier or later depending on demand.”
Julian says he is constantly monitoring Auckland Transport’s plans for public transport in the area and will adapt to work in with those as necessary.
“I see us a complementary, rather than competition, to their plans.
“There are no plans to extend the route just yet but, again, we’re demand driven so if there’s something people want I’d like to know about it.”
Meanwhile, a Wellsford-based bus service run by Casey Kraun is gaining support, too.
It initially faltered due to lack of patronage when it was launched in July last year.
But 12 months on and the tables have turned.
Casey is now running five return services between Te Hana and Albany, via Wellsford and Warkworth, Monday to Friday. She says the 10-seater bus is full on nearly every trip.
A trip from Te Hana costs $10, while the fare from Warkworth is $8.
Passengers are a mix of workers, shoppers, students and others.
“We haven’t received any financial assistance from anybody so it was tough at the beginning,” Casey says.
“Auckland Transport said there wasn’t enough demand to justify the service but we have proved them totally wrong.”
Casey says if patronage continues at the current rate, she expects to put a 22-seater bus into service early next year. The small bus will then be used to service small centres such as Port Albert and Oruawharo.
Casey spent $18,000 of her own money setting up the service, obtaining licences and permission for the run. Initially, it ran seven days a week with two buses.
AT media relations manager Mark Hannan says AT cannot give a subsidy to the service as it is not part of the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) and AT has not seen any proof that there is a demand for such a service.
“Future community initiated services are allowed for in the RPTP, and Auckland Transport would encourage any community to develop a viable concept that we could consider,” Mr Hannan says.
Meanwhile, the Kowhai Connection bus service, run by Auckland Transport (AT) which connects Warkworth with Matakana and Snells Beach, continues to falter. Figures show that from January to July this year, the buses carried 5384 passengers, compared to 7268 in the first seven months of last year. An AT spokesperson says despite the disappointing performance, AT is committed to maintaining the service.
