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Passenger numbers on the Kowhai Connection increased for the first two years of the service, but patronage has been falling this year.
The Kowhai Connection bus service is being expanded with a larger route and a bigger bus, but it will no longer run on Sundays or public holidays.The service started as a one-year trial in 2013, with stops in Warkworth, Matakana and Snells Beach, seven days a week. There was also an on-call service for passengers in Omaha, Point Wells, Algies Bay and Whangateau.
Auckland Transport spokesperson Mark Hannan says the on-call service will now be scrapped from May 25 due to significant costs, but the route has been expanded to service those areas.
“The reality of on-call is that the community has been using it more like a heavily subsidised taxi rather than a bus service,” Mr Hannan says.
There will be new stops at Whangateau Hall, Alexander Road bus shelter in Algies Bay, Point Wells Hall bus shelter and at the corner of Omaha Drive and Meiklejohn Way.
The van will be replaced with a 24-seat bus, due to feedback from users.
“There’s anecdotal evidence that many elderly and ‘less mobile’ people are not using the Kowhai Connection because of accessibility issues with the van.”
The bus will stop running on Sundays and public holidays due to a lack of passengers.
The timetable will also start earlier to allow for more school passengers and work commuters.
Although passenger numbers had been steadily increasing, averaging about 40 a day, there has been a decline in numbers this year. The service is still well behind the 66 daily passengers required make it viable.
The service is being extended for another two years, or until the new Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) is implemented.
“PTOM will mean the Kowhai Connection, like other public transport services, will go to tender. This is expected to be in late 2016. In the next few months we will go back to Warkworth with more details on any proposed service for the area and ask for feedback to fine-tune the proposed service.”
PTOM changes the way bus services are contracted around the country with the aim of growing patronage with less reliance on subsidies by making public transport more commercial.
Meanwhile, a campaign to get a bus service in Wellsford is gaining momentum after a resident conducted a survey of about 600 people.
Valerie Jarvis surveyed over about six months, after becoming frustrated with the lack of Council services in Wellsford. She plans to present the findings to Auckland Transport.
“There are a lot of aging people in Wellsford who are unable to drive and are basically trapped. We pay Auckland rates but we aren’t even mentioned in the transport plan.
“One man I’ve been talking to has had a stroke and can’t drive. His family don’t have time to drive him around so he is stuck. Having a service to Warkworth would at least allow people to access Work and Income NZ, the optometrists and supermarkets.”
