Oh my goodness – why are our buses not attracting patronage? Tauranga’s bus patronage is negative for the past year, in spite of strong population growth; and in Rotorua it is an absolute disaster - down nearly 19% for the year. Up until the end of 2013 Tauranga Bus patronage was increasing strongly, but since then patronage has been going down. Why – I would say it is because Councillors aren’t taking enough interest to ensure that the bus service is fit for purpose. I say that after reading all the minutes of the Regional Council’s Public Transport sub-committee. Talking to commuters, our buses are not reliable – often being very late so that commuters can’t rely on the timetables to get them to work on time. This is hopeless, and a huge waste of ratepayers and taxpayers money.

Our buses are too big, being rarely filled, and the bus service makes our Regional Council look bad. Come on Bay of Plenty Regional Council – stop wasting our targeted rate, and get the bus service reliable so that our commuters can have confidence; so that they will begin to use the service as envisioned. Don’t accept mediocracy – get the buses running to time, and the fares structured appropriately (not one fare no matter how far you travel), and the commuters will come.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me