Concerned people travelled in a historic bus yesterday in a bid to save a treasured Green Island ‘‘local'' bus service, and were later optimistic of eventual success.
About 35 people, young and old, including many from the greater Green Island area, arrived at the Otago Regional Council headquarters in Stafford St, Dunedin, by bus, shortly before 10am.
They accompanied a petition, signed by about 400 people, and organised by the Greater Green Island Community Network, urging the restoration of a multi-stop No 70 ‘‘local'' bus service, linking Brighton and South Dunedin.
The service was lost when the council introduced a more direct southern route bus service last July.
The community network, backed by Bus Go Dunedin, a bus user advocacy group, used an Otago Heritage Bus Society bus to travel the proposed ‘‘local'' southern bus route.
Green Island resident Jack Rutherford (84) gave a brief presentation to a community forum, during a council meeting. ‘‘I speak not only for myself,'' he said.
He was also speaking for children, for mothers in families ‘‘who have only one car'' who were struggling to take their children to key services, such as the doctor, and for many other people, including the elderly, who had been disadvantaged by the end of the ‘‘local'' Brighton bus service.
But people had not come to ‘‘moan'' or ‘‘complain'', but to bring a ‘‘positive suggestion'' to improve the service, also appreciating the merits of the new express buses to central Dunedin.
He later said the council had listened, and he was hopeful of a positive outcome eventually.
Green Island School principal Steve Hayward, who had travelled by bus with a group of pupils, said the meeting had been ‘‘extremely positive'', and he was also hopeful.
Maya Nicol (11), a year 8 pupil, said she was ‘‘quite sad'' that some people, young and old, were having transport problems.
ORC chairman Stephen Woodhead welcomed the community members.
Complex matters were involved, including bus contracts, and the council could not give an immediate response or a specified time when it would be able to respond.
But the case had been well put and councillors had listened carefully, he said.
