Public transport – let’s give it a go!
You’ve probably heard by now that our three-month Community Shuttle Trial will launch on Wednesday, September 28.
In our community development role, Community Networks/LINK facilitates action on community issues. In recent years, the issue of public transport has been raised by young people, commuters, older people, and other vulnerable residents – people who are seeking more affordable transport options or wanting to reduce their carbon footprint through shared transport. Over the past twelve months, we have researched and prepared for what could become the beginning of public transport in the Upper Clutha. While the trial is short-term, the data collected will inform long-term planning for the region.
We’re very excited and it seems lots of you are too! We’ve had really positive feedback about the initiative so far. We’ve also received lots of questions, so we thought we would answer a few here.
Don’t forget that all the available information - including timetable, route map and bus stop locations - is available on our Shuttle page. We’ll continue to update this page as the trial progresses, and we are keeping track of all your feedback - so do keep checking back. More questions answered in our next blog!
What are the goals of this trial?
• To address and enable action around the issue of a lack of community public transport
• To provide a short-term transport service connecting neighbourhoods in Albert Town, Hāwea Flat and Lake Hāwea to Wānaka in response to growing need
• To collect data to test anecdotal demand and inform longer term planning involving multiple parties, including the QLDC and ORC, as our population base grows and comprehensive public transport becomes more feasible.
What about Luggate?
Due to the limitations of the service and the importance of delivering transport that is timely and convenient for people, we had to make some really tough decisions about destinations. It was felt that, if we wanted to include places further afield, a separate loop would be needed to deliver an effective service. This was unfortunately beyond the bounds of our budget for this Trial.
This trial is as much about data collection as it is providing a service. We’ll be collecting as much feedback as possible to help shape our district’s next steps going forward – so it’s very important for us to hear about if there is demand for public transport within the Luggate (or Queensberry, Cardrona etc. communities).
Who’s paying for this?
Community Networks/LINK is a charitable trust funded through multiple funding streams including grants and donations. One grant in particular from the Otago Community Trust, facilitated by Queenstown Lakes District Council, is covering a large portion of the expenses and we are grateful for their support.
