In January I laid out my priorities as a regional councillor. My first priority is to improve our public transport system in Tauranga. There is widespread support for this, and already there have been meetings amongst interested parties. I am really concerned that Smartgrowth sees fit to enter the debate. Certainly they have an interest in ensuring that we have appropriate transport corridors, but I fail to see why they need to dig into the detail of our bus routes. This just adds more players to “muddy the water.” I am not opposed to a little “hui”, but the key for our Regional Council staff is to come up with sound action points, based on solid research. We can’t improve the system, both from a route and a fare perspective, unless we properly understand what we already have. This will help to answer the reasons for falling patronage (yes the total numbers moves higher, but that is only because the Ministry of Education has stopped their SchoolHopper service).

Unsuccessful Tauranga City Councillor aspirant & architect Mark Wassung continues with his wonderful “Tauranga Connect” drawings, but these are just that. They lack detail and costings, and in fact are mainly plainly unaffordable. Good on Mark for profiling our problem, but we are now in the 21st Century, and autonomous buses will be the future (and within the next 2 to 3 years). Forget rail & light rail for public transport in the Bay, as these modes are being superseded. Driverless cars, buses and trucks are the way of the future, and our Public Transport review needs to recognise this. It isn’t rocket science – it is now reality. Come on Regional Council – let’s give our city a 21st Century solution to our Public Transport woes.

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