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I want to give a big shout-out to our bus drivers. We are lucky to have amazing drivers for the Southlink that connects coastal communities on SH45 from Ōpunake to New Plymouth, and the Connector linking Hāwera with New Plymouth on SH3. From my personal observation as a regular public transport user and looking at the Taranaki Regional Council reports, passenger numbers have grown significantly over recent years which has led to increased services - because many of us have been asking for a better public transport system for a long time. There is still a lot to do in this space. Evening and weekend services are still missing so there is room to expand. Given the obvious benefits that public transport brings to the region - such as lower emissions, reducing congestion, enhancing community connections, particularly for the elderly, youth and those who are financially struggling - it is important that we have councillors who value, understand and prioritise public transport. And tell our drivers they are awesome! To find out more about public transport options in Taranaki, head to the TRC website for information on routes and timetables: https://www.trc.govt.nz/buses-transport/routes 
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UPDATE: The petition has almost 1500 signatures!
I have long been an advocate for public transport. Bringing back long-distance passenger rail to Taranaki is a no-brainer. Please support this petition: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/bring-back-long-distance-passenger-rail-to-taranaki South Taranaki communities currently have a few a public transport options that are run by the Regional Council: the Connector between Hāwera and New Plymouth, the upgraded daily services connecting coastal communities between Ōpunake and New Plymouth and the other Southlink services. While the addition of more services for South Taranaki in recent years has been welcomed by locals - and looking at the numbers, they are indeed well used - I am pushing for an expansion of the public transport network with more urban and rural services. Public transport connects people, lowers our emissions and congestion and crucially provides transport options for the elderly, youth and the poor. Until the 1950s, Ōpunake had daily train connections to Whanganui and Wellington. I support the call to reinstate regular passenger rail services between New Plymouth, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Wellington, reconnecting communities across the North Island with safe, sustainable, and inclusive public transport. I grew up in car-free family. We had bikes, trams every seven minutes and a train to every other major center every 30 minutes. Not having a car was easy, and normal. Now, in rural South Taranaki, we only have one bus a week, and even in urban New Plymouth there are no buses after 7pm, very limited services on Saturdays and nothing at all on Sundays. We need urgent action to improve our public transport network. Public transport has numerous benefits: it connects people and communities, enables the poor the get around easier, drastically reduces our emissions and de-congests roads. While there have been some improvements in recent years such as the introduction of The Connector service linking Te Hāwera and New Plymouth, we need a lot more investment and support, particularly for rural South Taranaki. I am passionate about public transport and want to see a well-designed, frequent and affordable public transport network for our whole region. Ultimately, the Taranaki Regional Council has failed to provide enough funding in their Long Term Plans for public transport. [Photo - our family on the Southlink bus that connects Opunake with New Plymouth every Friday]  |
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