MEDIA RELEASE

December 03, 2013
ORC seeking feedback on proposed Dunedin bus service changes

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) is currently surveying passengers’ needs for several Dunedin bus routes.

Service changes are proposed for these services from 1 July 2014, when two bus contracts expire:

Garden Village
Roslyn/Maori Hill/Prospect Park
Peninsula
Port Chalmers/Ravensbourne
Waverley

The changes are designed to:
• simplify the network for users
• focus travel where user demand indicates a need for the service; and
• provide more reliable travel schedules.

ORC director policy and resource planning Fraser McRae said the proposed changes are about better meeting passengers needs in the first instance. Additionally, there are some parts of the network where people have asked for route or timetable changes or where patronage is so low that service viability is in doubt. Council is surveying the public about these parts of the network before making any decisions.

Surveys for each of the affected routes are on ORC’s website at www.orc.govt.nz/Buses/Surveys.

Mr McRae said all those with an interest in bus services in these areas can complete an online survey.

Additionally, printed surveys are being distributed this week to residents in the two areas where bus services, in their current form, may be discontinued: Murray, Skibo and Lockerbie Streets in Kew, and on the Peninsula beyond Portobello.

Council is considering all options to find a suitable solution for bus services between Harwood and Harington Point.

“ORC is talking with the local community and the Peninsula community board regarding bus services beyond Portobello. We aim to find a better means of providing services to this part of the city,” he said.

The survey runs until Friday 20 December, and changes will take effect in July next year he said.

ENDS