Hospital bus trial ends
18 July 2008
The trial of a direct bus service from the Hutt Valley to Wellington Hospital will finish at the end of next month and the service will not continue, due to low passenger numbers. However, Hutt people wanting to travel by bus to Wellington Hospital will still be able to do so, but will have to change buses in Wellington.
The No.83 bus from Eastbourne to Courtenay Place was extended in February, to run through to Wellington Hospital and Wellington Zoo. However, an evaluation of the trial found that only one or two people are making the journey between the Hutt Valley and Wellington Hospital on each service.
Valley Flyer, an NZ Bus subsidiary that operates Hutt Valley bus services, agreed to run the trial at no cost to Greater Wellington. If the service continued, Greater Wellington would have to subsidise it and at current patronage levels it would require a subsidy of about $28,000 per year.
Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Transport and Access Committee, said Greater Wellington could not justify spending that amount of money on so few passengers.
“I personally worked hard to get this trial as I really believed that it would be popular with Hutt people who needed to go to Wellington Hospital for outpatient appointments or to visit family and friends. Sadly, that does not seem to have been the case.”
NZ Bus Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Emson, said the company was approached by the Hutt Valley District Health Board earlier this year. “As a concerned and contributing member of the Hutt Valley community, Valley Flyer worked alongside Greater Wellington and the DHB to find a travel solution for their outpatients. While this trial has been unsuccessful we will continue to proactively look for ways to develop our services to meet community needs.”
Cr Glensor said there were other viable public transport options for Hutt Valley residents to get to and from Wellington Hospital. “Unlike the No.83 trial, which took people directly from the Hutt Valley to Wellington Hospital, all the other options require people to transfer at some point in their journey but there are still plenty of services.
“And the good news is that if you travel from the Hutt to Wellington Hospital by bus, you will still pay only $10 return with a Star Pass, and this includes all bus transfers. And if you’re over 60 years old, it will cost you only $5 for the return trip.”
The trial will end on Friday 29 August 2008.
For more information, please contact
Peter Glensor
Chair, Greater Wellington Transport and Access Committee
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