What’s been happening with the buses

Making changes

At times we have the opportunity to review aspects of the Orbus service based on feedback. Sometimes we can make changes, but only after a process of review and consultation with the various people and organisations who may be affected by changes.

One such recent case has been the change of the Victoria Road terminus for routes 44 (St Kilda to Halfway Bush) and 55 (St Kilda to Brockville).

Orbus drivers told us about buses sticking out into the road at the St Kilda terminus. Locals also asked about having a stop closer to the Victoria Flats. In this instance, we’ve been able to move the terminus down the road to between 100 and 102 Victoria Road, at the end of Freyberg Street and near Victoria Flats.

That’s good news, and we hope we are able to make more of these positive changes.

Shelters

People have asked us about getting a shelter at the new stop, and it is something we are have started looking into.

Asking about shelters at stops is a common question we get, especially in winter when the days are shorter and colder.

When we look at putting up a shelter there are a few considerations in the decision-making process. First and foremost are safety and accessibility, so we consider the distance to the nearest stop and to the nearest sheltered stop. We prioritise in-bound journeys (for example, stops in the direction of town) where people are more likely to wait to board a bus than get off and walk home. Often there isn’t enough room for a shelter as well as providing access for wheelchair users or those with walkers. We also need to consult with land owners, including residents and businesses near proposed shelters, and other organisations that may need to be consulted with, for examples schools or the city council regarding safety, traffic and even heritage status.

Depending on the location, this may take a lot of going back and forth.

It might seem like putting up a shelter is very easy but until everyone agrees – and if there’s enough room – unfortunately, it’s a little bit more complicated.  

We are coming to the end of a long process of implementing the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP). As routes have been changed, several shelters have gone out of use and we have been reallocating them elsewhere in the network, where possible. For example, we have three new shelters in place in Waikouaiti which were reallocated from elsewhere in the network.

Remaining roadworks this weekend

We’re almost half way through the underground cabling work at Great King Street. More will be taking place this weekend, affecting a couple of stops at the Hub.

Stop E will be out of service with route 6 to Pine Hill now departing from Stop B, and route 11 to Opoho now departing at Stop A.

The Hub will otherwise function throughout with minimal disruption and timetables will not change.