Media release from Greater Wellington Regional Council
20 February 2012
Keen interest in proposed bus changes

People interested in the proposed Wellington City bus changes are being encouraged to check the Greater Wellington website regularly for updated questions and answers.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, says people have been flooding the email inbox with questions about their specific areas.
“Many of the questions are common, relating to route details, so we’re updating our website regularly in response to the themes that are emerging.

“People want to know, for example, what route would replace the #20 Highbury route or whether there would be additional peak services on the Wilton bus route. Because we’re proposing an essentially new network across the city, in most cases you can’t get a direct comparison between a current route and a proposed route.”

The updated questions and answers are at www.gw.govt.nz/busquestions

Also, a series of drop in sessions will begin next week where Greater Wellington staff will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the proposal with people. A list of session times and venues is attached.

“The proposed changes are wide-ranging and quite complex and we’d strongly encourage people to check out the Q & As first, and if they still have questions, to email us at ptreview@gw.govt.nz or leave a message on 04 830 4071.

“I fully appreciate that Wellington City bus routes haven’t changed significantly for about 20 years so the proposed changes are big for many people. However, these proposals haven’t come out of the blue. They are the result of a review that has been going on for more than two years. We had one round of public consultation in early 2010 where people told us they wanted more bus services throughout the day, evening and weekends, better travel times through the CBD and they wanted better connections for cross city travel.

“Since that first round of consultation we’ve worked closely with bus operators, Wellington City Council transport staff and international public transport consultants on a proposal that would give people what they said they would like. We tested some of the concepts out with focus groups and other interested people and now we’re asking the wider community what they think.”

Information about the proposed changes are at www.gw.govt.nz/bus People need to give their feedback by Friday 16 March.

Wellington City Bus Review: ‘Drop in” community information sessions

AREA WHEN WHERE
Wellington CBD Tuesday 28 February 11am-1pm
Wednesday 29 February 12-2pm. Greater Wellington Regional Council 142 Wakefield St, Meeting Room 1, Ground Floor.

Karori Saturday 3 March 10am-12pm
Monday 5 March 11am-1pm. Karori Community Centre,
7 Beauchamp St.

Johnsonville Saturday 3 March 1-3pm
Tuesday 6 March 11am-1pm. Johnsonville Mall.

Newtown Wednesday 7 March 11am-1pm
Saturday 10 March 1-3pm. Newtown Hall,
cnr Daniell and Constable Sts.

Kilbirnie Thursday 8 March 11am-1pm
Saturday 10 March 10am-12pm Kilbirnie Community Centre,
56-58 Bay Rd.

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