The Otago Regional Council is not yet scrutinising George St changes to see whether buses are affected by lower Dunedin city-centre speed limits — but if required the council’s transport team would work to see "passengers are not unduly disadvantaged by the changes".
The Dunedin City Council last week approved a suite of safety measures for the central business district aimed at allowing pedestrians and cars to share streets, allowing for physical distancing and encouraging people to return to the city centre after lockdown.
The "Safer CBD Streets — Covid-19 response" plan includes a temporary 10kmh speed limit in George and Princes Sts, the installation of temporary speed bumps, and increasing the frequency of Barnes dance crossings.
The city’s transport planners also advised city councillors buses that at present travel along the central blocks of George St to and from the bus hub in Great King St could be "detoured".
"With reduced speeds and speed humps along George St, this potentially could be an unpleasant ride for passengers," the report states.
"Transport staff recommend flexibility to move bus services temporarily to Great King St if bus journey times become unreliable or too uncomfortable," the report goes on to say.
Regional council transport manager Garry Maloney said in an emailed response "buses are currently running as per usual".
"We’re not currently exploring the rerouting of buses, but will review the George St changes and monitor the need, working with the operator for operational data and feedback and checking in with passengers through our usual channels.
"If rerouting was to take place, this would require some planning and a review of bus stop facilities to ensure we’re still providing access to key locations on George St, and that passengers are not unduly disadvantaged by the changes."
