Free bus transfer considered

Alex King.
Alex King.
Further free bus transfer is being considered after more complaints about changes to southern Dunedin bus routes.

Some passengers travelling through Green Island on a new direct route introduced last week as part of wider city bus transport changes have complained buses no longer pass through South Dunedin to reach the central city.

If these passengers want to reach South Dunedin or Caversham, they now face changing buses and buying a new ticket, with an extra fare.

Otago Regional Council support services manager Gerard Collings said preliminary talks had been held with southern routes operator Go Bus Transport to see if agreement could be reached for a free transfer for some southern route passengers, taking account of possible implications.

Bus passenger advocacy group Bus Go co-president Alex King said the group supported the overall bus changes.

The first phase, southern routes, was already delivering benefits, including more frequent services from Mosgiel. But the council had ''made a mistake'' on parts of its new southern routes.

It might have been introduced too early, given the planned citywide transferable ticket system would not be in place until about mid-next year.

Mr Collings said starting the new southern routes at this stage had not been a mistake, but empathised with those who believed they had been ''disadvantaged'' by the change.

Asked if a few transitional direct bus services could be made available to South Dunedin before the new citywide ticketing system becomes available, he said the council was listening carefully to passenger feedback.

Tweaking the system could be considered as appropriate, but the council did not wish to make any big ''knee jerk'' changes until after all the new citywide routes had been bedded in, after July 1 next year, he said.

Mr King said the council might have underestimated the demand for direct access to South Dunedin by bus users travelling through Green Island.

Asked how he would score the council for the first phase of the new, more direct route bus services, Mr King said the overall strategy was good but his score was only five out of 10 so far.

The council had already ensured free transfer ticketing was available for passengers from Abbotsford and Brighton changing buses at the Green Island ''super stop'', despite the overall new ticketing system not yet being in place.

A similar compromise should be put in place to allow southern route passengers wishing to transfer to South Dunedin, given they could travel there directly under the previous system.

The council needed to listen carefully and consider how it could help passengers who had been disadvantaged by the southern route changes, including at Concord, where services to South Dunedin had also been reduced.

After earlier public consultation, the council helped develop a comprehensive transport plan designed to make improvements and deliver faster, more direct travel.

Many city bus routes had been criticised as over-complex and slow.

john.gibb@odt.co.nz

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