Many parents and caregivers on the Otago Peninsula feel the Otago Regional Council has thrown them under a bus, write Jason Graham and Paul Pope.
The provision of public transport services for school commuters from the Otago Peninsula has raised significant community passions.
American politician and academic Elizabeth Warren once said ''I'm willing to throw my body in front of the bus to stop bad ideas.''
Many parents and caregivers on the Peninsula feel it has been the Otago Regional Council which has thrown the community under a bus - not to stop a bad idea, but to perpetuate an already bad one.
A consistent theme of obfuscation, misinterpretation and confusion has emanated from the council over what Peninsula commuters have actually asked it to provide. That confusion is clear with statements like, ''we (ORC) are not providing a dedicated school bus service''.
Further bizarre statements from councillors include, ''if we make these changes for your public bus, other outlying communities will want their buses changed too'', and the very worrying ''we are not in the business of safety!''
This article seeks to show the wider city why the Peninsula community has become frustrated with an intractable regional council. It's an opportunity to show how the community has been proactive with consultation to refine a workable solution.
For our community to have a safe, practical and timely public transport system, we are simply asking the council for the three following actions:
1. A slightly altered route for only two of the daily buses in the morning and mid-afternoon that allows pupils to get to and from school in a timely and safe manner.
2. A 10-minute earlier departure time from Portobello to ensure pupils and working commuters arrive on time and ready for the working day.
3. The addition of a bus leaving the city at 3.08pm to make the peninsula schedule half-hourly during the 3pm-6pm peak time, like the rest of the city.
The Peninsula community has never asked for a dedicated school bus since changes were implemented after GoBus lost the current contract in 2017. In fact, there is overwhelming support to use public transport.
The 2014 regional public transport plan (RPTP) states school pupils will be able to ''access their school of choice'' and that ''school pupils will use the public transport network for their journey to and from school''.
The plan goes further to say ''that some pupils may have a short walk from the bus stop to their school and vice-versa''.
Our survey of the community shows that 94% say that a short walk is defined as being of 10 minutes or less to get from the bus stop to your destination.
The Ministry of Transport 2015 household travel survey shows the largest users of public transport are 15-24 years old.
So why would the council not provide an appropriate service in line with its 2014 public transport plan, that describes this group as '' transport disadvantaged?''
The council has decided school-aged commuters from the Peninsula are asking for special treatment.
We had a 69% response rate in a survey of 102 families who have 118 pupils at four schools.
Of the 81 pupils whose parents responded, it was found that. -
- In term 1, an average of 41 were taken by car, 30 used the charter bus, and only 10 travelled by the public bus.
- In term 2 (with no charter bus service), only three now using the car, and six now using the charter bus would change to the public bus if no changes were made to the service.
- If our three suggested changes were made, then 76 of the 81 would become public bus commuters.
Parents' main concerns were (1) safety, (2) length of journeys, and (3) the 20-minute walk is too long.
Throughout this debate the lack of flexibility and creative thinking by the council to solve immediate issues is deeply worrying.
The much-vaunted and delayed ''hub'' seems to set the benchmark for glacial public transport decision-making in Dunedin.
That irony is not lost on our community, as we move into the darkness and cold of a Dunedin winter.
A community requesting change to public transport should not be seen as a negative, but rather a community willing to use the public service and make it even better.
What Peninsula residents are asking for is a public transport service that in the words of their own 2014 public transport plan ''supports community wellbeing and offers personal choice''.
With a captive market of willing public transport users and a motivated community, why would the Otago Regional Council not ensure delivery of a service ''to meet that community's travel needs?''
Sadly for our community, the wheels on the bus don't go round and round, but the rhetoric and delay does.
-Jason Graham is a ''concerned parent'' and Paul Pope the chairman of the Otago Peninsula Community Board.
