Greater Wellington News

Vote for your favourite public transport artwork!

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:20:18 +1200

Public voting opens today (20 May) for Metlink’s inaugural public transport art competition.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, says 16 finalists have been selected.

“I understand the selection panel had some tough decisions to make as while each of the entries was very unique, the quality of them all was very high. The competition called for artistic expressions of what your public transport means to you, and it’s clear from the entries that it means a range of different things to different people.

“Going by the entries, the amazing views from the train or the bus mean a lot to some people while others portrayed the contribution that our public transport makes to the uniqueness of Wellington. And others highlighted the breadth of Wellington’s public transport network and where it can take you. Clearly people have put a lot of time and energy into their entries – they’re fabulous.”

The winning designs will be produced into wraps on a Matangi train and a Wairarapa train, various buses and a harbour ferry. Some will also be produced as posters.

“Whichever entries win, they’ll really make the bus or train stand out.”

The harbour ferry design has already been chosen as only one entry met the criteria. James Goldsworthy, 10, from Upper Hutt, will soon see his picture which “helps you to remember all the goings on above and below the water while taking the ferry” adorned on the inside of a harbour ferry.

You can vote for your favourite bus and train design on the Itsyourtransport page on Facebook.

Voting closes on Friday 31 May.

The winning art will be displayed on buses, trains and a harbour ferry around the middle of the year.

For more information, phone our media team on 021 914 266 or email us.

New-look Tawa Station re-opens Monday 20 May

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:41:59 +1200

Tawa train commuters will return to a very different looking station this Monday (20 May).

A major upgrade was carried out after the Tawa Station building was found to be in a serious state of disrepair. The roof had had been leaking for years, destroying ceiling and wall linings and causing rafters and wall studs to rot. The building was also heavily infested with borer.

Peter Glensor, Chair of the Regional Council’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, which is responsible for public transport, says the station has a brand new shelter structure with a range of artistic panels displaying Tawa’s unique and historic features.

“The design is along very similar lines to the refurbishment of Naenae Station which the Regional Council did last year. The local community had a lot of input into features of the station, particularly the artistic shelter panels.

“Similarly for Tawa Station we worked very closely with the Tawa Historical Society and the Tawa Community Board on the design of the panels. It’s been a real community effort and has helped built the sense of ownership of this really important asset.

“Ensuring that we maintain these assets appropriately is a top priority. When the Regional Council took over ownership of all the station buildings, apart from Wellington Railway Station, in 2011 we carried out a thorough audit of them all and that’s when we became aware of the condition of Tawa Station. Following on from the audit, we’ve developed a comprehensive maintenance and repair programme. This should give us more opportunities to maintain rather than have to replace station buildings in the future.”

As well as the new structure at Tawa Station, there’s new and improved lighting, the platforms have been reshaped and resurfaced, platform frontages have been strengthened and substantial remedial work has been done on the pedestrian overbridge. Brand new signage at the station is the pilot for new signage at stations throughout the region.

“Catching a train to or from Tawa Station will be a much more enjoyable and safe experience from Monday.”

Evening commuters will be invited to join in an official opening of the station on Thursday 6 June.

For more information, please call 021 914 266 or email us

Bus service disruptions

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:45:30 +1200

Disruptions to GO Wellington and Valley Flyer bus services are likely to continue for a few more weeks but the number of daily disruptions is expected to reduce progressively, NZ Bus and Greater Wellington said today.

“We apologise to customers affected by service disruptions,” says Rachel Drew, NZ Bus Southern Chief Operations Officer.

She said eight buses are currently out of service, following recent checks by the Police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit (CVIU) and several more were out of service due to accidents and vandalism.

The CVIU carries out random checks to ensure taxi and bus operators are complying with operational and safety regulations.

“We need to address some issues identified in the recent checks, such as the correct dimensions for safety signs, throughout our whole fleet and we are doing this progressively. NZ Bus has an agreed plan with the CVIU and the NZ Transport Agency to address issues. We are fully committed to the health and safety of our customers and employees.”

When the CVIU removes buses from service, for whatever reason, they must then go through a complete Certificate of Fitness process, similar to a Warrant of Fitness test for a car. “This all takes time and we have put extra resources into this and our depot staff are working through the night and weekends but unfortunately we expect services to be affected for a few more weeks. As time goes on we expect the number of service disruptions to reduce steadily.

“I know any disruption to services, if it affects you, is frustrating but the vast majority of services are still running. GO Wellington runs 1875 services each day and Valley Flyer runs 1,010. The current disruptions are affecting around three percent of services each day.”

Wayne Hastie, Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Public Transport General Manager, says the work must be done as buses need to comply with all the legal requirements. “Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to give customers information about the disruptions as soon as we can so they can plan their morning or evening commute. We’re aiming to have information about the morning peak hour service disruptions on the Metlink website the evening before. Information about evening peak hour services will be on the Metlink website by mid-afternoon. People without access to a computer or mobile device can call the Metlink Service Centre on 0800 801 700.”

He says the Council’s contracts with public transport operators require companies to meet general operational, safety and accessibility standards. “And we monitor this regularly at a reasonably high level. But our role, and level of authority, is not to drill down to the level that the CVIU does in terms of all the regulations and legal requirements that commercial vehicle operators must comply with. Our expectation when we enter into contracts with operators is that, as a matter of course, they comply with all the relevant operational and safety regulations.”

For more information, please call 021 914 266 or email us

Temporary bus diversions for Island Bay, Karori and Lyall Bay routes

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:34:49 +1200

Bus services on Route 1 between Wellington Station and Island Bay, and Route 3 between Karori and Lyall Bay will again be diverted away from the Basin Reserve and run instead via Taranaki and Wallace Streets from 2pm until 7.30pm today, due to a continuing power outage

Media Advisory

Tuesday 13 May 2013

Island Bay, Lyall Bay and Karori bus diversions

Bus services on Routes# 1, between Wellington Station and Island Bay, and #3 between Karori and Lyall Bay will again be diverted away from the Basin Reserve and run instead via Taranaki and Wallace Streets from 2pm until 7.30pm today, due to a continuing power outage.

All Route 3 services scheduled to start at Courtenay Place and travel to Karori will run along the normal route. This includes all Route3S and 3W bus services.

From 7.30pm services on routes will return to normal and will be run by diesel buses for the rest of the evening.

The source of the outage is a cable fault buried underground on Kent Terrace. The site is being dug out day today and repairs will be made during the night with the aim of having the supply restored by early tomorrow morning.

It's expected that tomorrow's morning peak services will run on the normal routes but customers should check the Metlink website www.metlink.org.nz or call Metlink on 0800 801 700 to see if services will be affected. The Metlink call centre is open from 6am tomorrow.

While trolley buses can travel for short periods on battery power, it's not possible to run regular frequent services using battery power as there's insufficient time for the batteries to be recharged and the time taken to detach and re-attach the trolley bus poles would cause serious delays. The battery power facility is designed for one-off temporary emergency situations.

Greater Wellington Regional Council and NZ Bus apologise to customers for the disruptions.

For more information call 021 914 266Bus services on Routes# 1, between Wellington Station and Island Bay, and #3 between Karori and Lyall Bay will again be diverted away from the Basin Reserve and run instead via Taranaki and Wallace Streets from 2pm until 7.30pm today, due to a continuing power outage.

All Route 3 services scheduled to start at Courtenay Place and travel to Karori will run along the normal route. This includes all Route3S and 3W bus services.

From 7.30pm services on Routes 1 and 3 will return to normal and will be run by diesel buses for the rest of the evening.

It's expected that tomorrow's morning peak services will run on the normal routes but customers should check with Metlink or call Metlink on 0800 801 700 to see if services will be affected. The Metlink call centre is open from 6am tomorrow.

Greater Wellington Regional Council and NZ Bus apologise to customers for the disruptions.

For more information call 021 914 266