Loss of bus stops to be a 'shock'

Alex King

The proposed loss of many bus stops near the Octagon will come as a ''shock'' to some bus users when the central Dunedin bus hub goes ahead.

That is the view of Dunedin bus users support group co-president Alex King.

''Many people don't fully realise the impact of it,'' Mr King said.

The Bus Go support group has also begun collecting signatures for a ''Don't stop stopping'' petition asking the Otago Regional Council to ''Don't stop stopping near the Octagon''.

The group was urging the council ''not to carry out its current plan to eliminate all bus stops between Dowling and St Andrew Sts when it opens its new bus hub'' late this year, he said.

Existing bus stops throughout the city centre were typically 200m apart, but the present regional council plan created a 700m-long ''bus-stop free zone'' ''through Dunedin's heart'', after the hub was established.

This would mean the loss of bus stops on either side of George St, immediately north of the Octagon, including one beside the escalator leading to the Civic Centre and City Library.

Two bus stops immediately south of the Octagon, and another near the Nova restaurant in the Octagon would also go.

The current plan would make it much more difficult for bus users to visit the Octagon, Civic Centre, library, Dunedin Public Art Gallery. and Dunedin I-Site, all of which were currently ''well served by bus stops''.

Library users would have to walk up to 350m with heavy books.

Bus Go Dunedin requested that city centre bus stops continue to be at roughly 200-metre intervals, that new bus stops be installed in Moray Pl South near Princes St and in Moray Pl North near Filleul St, providing access to the library, he said.

Gerard Collings. Photo: The Star

Council support services manager Gerard Collings said some people could be ''disappointed'' about the reduction in bus services near the Octagon, but the council had tried to be ''open and transparent'' and informative throughout.

The proposed Great King St bus hub was only about two blocks away, and the regional council would have discussions with the Dunedin City Council about the possibility of putting in bus stops in the Moray Pl South area, either near First Church, or closer to Princes St.

Providing a bus stop in Moray Pl North, near the City Library would not be ''practical'' in terms of bus access, but the council was mindful of any community concerns and ''empathised'' with any problems faced by some bus users.

''We're particularly mindful of our customers. Without our customers we don't have a service,'' Mr Collings said.

Mr King was also ''disappointed'' that a council report recommends making no change to the current exclusion of the Arthur St, Canongate and Russell St area from the Belleknowes to Waverley bus service.

The report follows a survey of residents living in the area, and earlier submissions from residents, who said they had been disadvantaged by an earlier route change that made it harder for people in those areas to catch the bus.

Mr Collings said the report would be considered by the council's finance and corporate committee today, and he could not comment because it was for councillors to decide.

john.gibb@odt.co.nz