No way could this afternoon bus remain populated predominantly just by ghosts.
For the first part of the new Ridge Runner’s 3.06pm northbound service on Tuesday there were seemingly just two living souls aboard: one bus driver and, apparently, a helpful bus company support person.
At Mornington that small crowd was swelled slightly by a newspaper reporter who hadn’t used his GoCard for a while and was pleasantly surprised it still worked.
The overall Ridge Runner number 15 bus service began life on Monday as part of the third and biggest group of bus changes introduced by the Otago Regional Council since July 2015.
This new semi-orbital service links, in both directions, the Andersons Bay Rd/ Hillside Rd corner area, Cargill’s Corner, and Mornington with the Gardens and the University of Otago campus, via the "ridge" suburbs of Belleknowes, Roslyn and Maori Hill.
The overall changes flowed from the council’s Regional Public Transport Plan (2014), which sought to improve bus transport through swifter, and more direct routes, and more frequent services.
As yesterday’s bus scampered along the "ridge" above the central business district, it made good time, untroubled by either the light traffic on those roads or by ominously massing dark clouds which began to condense in the distance, obscuring Mt Cargill.
Year 8 pupil Charlotte Wollstein (12) praised the "really good" new service, whose more direct route brings her to her connecting bus for home, at least 10 minutes faster than before.
"It’s also cheaper" - at $2.30 that is 80c less than before.
Bus Go bus users support group co-president Alex King also praised the "fantastic" Ridge Runner, although when he used it on Monday, he was accompanied north to the Gardens by only the driver, then later shared the journey with four fellow passengers as he headed south to Mornington.
Orbital bus services were successful elsewhere, including in Christchurch, and the Ridge Runner would become more popular as more people learned about it, Mr King said.
