Porirua East community bus service ends

The Porirua East door-to-door bus service will take its last passengers next Friday ( 28 October 2011).

The service, which runs between Porirua East and Porirua CBD, started as a trial in February this year. Like shopper bus services in Kapiti and Wellington City people phone and book a seat on the bus and it picks them up from home, drops them off at their chosen destination and they can catch it back home later.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, which oversees public transport, says the trial had not been successful. “There have been on average around two passengers per return service and we need at least four passengers to make it viable.

“Consequently we’ve been running the service at a huge loss: the projected yearly costs are $105,000 and projected yearly fare revenue is $6,000. That’s totally unsustainable and not a sensible spend of ratepayers’ money.”

Cr Glensor says everyone who uses the service regularly has been contacted personally and advised the service will no longer be available. “They’ve been very understanding and, where possible, we’ve tried to find other transport options for them such as our Total Mobility scheme.” Total Mobility is a subsidised taxi service for people with permanent disabilities who cannot access public transport.

“We had really hoped this service would be popular. A bus that picks you up from outside your door and drops you back there is fabulous, but unfortunately there just doesn’t seem to have been any demand for it.”