The government must continue to fund the Te Huia service between Hamilton and Auckland and politicians have been told by the community through a 4000+ signature petition that is growing and at a crowded public meeting in Hamilton that they want the service.

PTUA Chair, Niall Robertson says, “I have met many of the people on the service while handing out leaflets. A university student helped give them out. A woman in a wheel chair told me how liberating it was compared to the alternative”. Robertson said, “If we can nurse this through these vulnerable early days, it will naturally grow with the population into more frequent and regular services”.

PTUA National Coordinator Jon Reeves said that the introduction of just one station at Pokeno would change all the numbers for Te Huia, and this was a popular idea for those that attended a public meeting in Pokeno last Sunday.

Robertson points out that there are many developments along the route and says, “Soon the electrification will extend to Pukekohe and that station will reopen and there are many communities en route that are growing. To not keep the trial going to assess the effects of these developments would indicate a very short term view indeed”

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