ORC seeks improved service reliability for Dunedin bus users

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) wants to provide greater certainty for users of Dunedin's passenger transport network with an increased focus on operator compliance.

Councillors recently expressed concern at one operator's failure to operate six circuits of the Waverley loop of the Shiel Hill bus service on Queens Birthday, June 6, and consecutive services between 6.50am and 8.50am on the Shiel Hill route on Friday June 18.

The causes of these failures related to the company's staff management.

ORC director of policy and resource planning Fraser McRae said the operator's staff management had been amended to avoid any similar problems.

The company involved has been penalised by appropriate contract payment deductions for these non-operated services.

Mr McRae said that while Dunedin bus users generally enjoyed a high standard of service, these recent incidents, combined with a succession of similar complaints during the past year, were not acceptable as far as ORC is concerned.

As part of a review of the ORC's regional passenger transport plan, staff were investigating the adoption of a new mechanism for imposing stiffer penalties on operators who failed to provide contracted services to the required standard.

The ORC is required by the Public Transport Management Act 2008 to operate an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive, and sustainable land transport system.

Enshrined in the legislation is a requirement to develop performance standards, which among other things focuses on service reliability and compliance; and quality standards which deal with the design and performance of buses.

Mr McRae said the number of super-low-floor buses on Dunedin routes had grown from 21 four years ago to 60 now, which reflected the increased investment operators had made in their fleets. The only two buses which are not super-low-floor run on the steep hills along the harbourside to Port Chalmers, and from Dunedin to Palmerston.

ORC was keen to see similar improvements replicated in service reliability.

The latest ORC annual bus user satisfaction survey put the percentage of respondents rating their bus service as good, very good, or excellent at 97.8 percent.

Mr McRae said he was confident operators would respond positively to the council's efforts to increase passenger satisfaction through increased accountability for service provision.