More Whanganui residents jump on board public transport
Published on 30 October 2024
Horizons Regional Council and Whanganui District Council media release
Work to improve public transport in Whanganui is reaping results, with residents more likely to use services now than they were two years ago.
Horizons Regional Council Passenger Transport Committee chair Sam Ferguson says feedback from a recent independent survey shows work to improve facilities has resulted in people rating public transport more favourably, regardless of if they used buses or not.
“Much of this work was done via the Transport Choices project, a collaboration between Whanganui District and Horizons councils funded by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to improve bus infrastructure across the city.
”When we did our survey in 2022, residents consistently told us comfortable passenger facilities were a big barrier to public transport.
“People are happy with the project’s results, with 80% of all responses to our latest survey saying the work has made a positive impression.
“The real-time information boards received the highest satisfaction score (8 out of 10), while usefulness and general design of shelters also ranked highly.”
Transport Choices enabled Horizons and Whanganui District councils to do nearly a decade’s worth of public transport infrastructure work in less than two years, resulting in 19 new and improved shelters across multiple suburbs, says Mr Ferguson.
“It is great to see this project, which attracted $1.1m of central government investment, is having the desired impact of making public transport a more attractive option for Whanganui residents.”
The survey also found more people were using public transport, says Mr Ferguson.
“Almost half of respondents (47%) said they used Whanganui bus services in the past year, well up on the 2022 survey result (28%).
“Satisfaction is also up, with 79% of bus users satisfied with services, giving an average rating of 7.3 out of 10. That’s significantly higher than 2022, when 47% of users said they were satisfied, giving an average rating of 6.4 out of 10.
“The survey results match the patronage data we collect, which showed there were more than 190,000 trips on all Whanganui urban bus services in the 2023/24 financial year – almost 70,000 more trips than the previous year. Much of this growth is down to Te Ngaru The Tide, which is accounting for up to 53% of patronage on urban bus services in the city.
“However, we have seen growth across all of our services, indicating work to get more people using public transport is reaping results.
“While we have seen increases in bus patronage and satisfaction with the shelters and the service, we are continuing to implement improvements to help make it easy for new passengers to use the bus service.”
While the Transport Choices project has drawn to a close, resulting in 19 new and improved shelters across Whanganui, feedback on services and facilities is always welcome, says Mr Ferguson.
“We are preparing to review Whanganui bus services in 2025, which will give users and non-users the perfect opportunity to optimise routes and further boost public transport use.
“People can give feedback directly to our Transport team via email at transport@horizons.govt.nz or via freephone 0508 800 800.”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says: “Given the significantly increased bus users, it is great to see the new bus shelters, which are a key part of the overall experience, alongside the real-time information boards.”
Whanganui district councillor Rob Vinsen, who holds the infrastructure and transport portfolio, says the advent of The Tide service has proved that high frequency on popular destination routes is the key to increased ridership.
"These digital information boards and better shelters will further improve the customer experience, yet again making public transportation more user-friendly.
“The digital boards will tell you in real-time how far the bus is from the stop you are waiting at – even if the bus is running late. Passengers will find that information really helpful."
More information about the project can be found here. Information about public transport in the Horizons Region can be found here or follow Connect - Horizons Regional Transport on Instagram and Facebook.
Image: Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe (right) and Cr Rob Vinsen, council infrastructure and transport portfolio holder at one of the new bus shelters in Victoria Avenue