Buses in Dunedin, or Why I wont catch the bus!

Why I wont catch the bus in Dunedin

I was raised in Wellington. I caught the train to school nearly every day through my Intermediate and Secondary school years. Later I took buses to University and work every day. I have taken trains to Auckland, Gisborne and when I moved to Dunedin, we arrived by train. I have taken buses around NZ and the world.

I believe in public transport and think it is what makes a city and a country work. When we moved to Dunedin a bus system was one of the factors that helped us choose this city.

I live in Brockville. We bought our house in Brockville10 years ago partly because, despite being an outer suburb, it was serviced by buses. What we didn’t realise until too late was that the bus timetable would be confusing, erratic and the service split between two companies. 10 years later, despite a review, nothing has changed, except the cost. Take a look at the timetable some time. In the morning the first bus is 7am, then 7:15am, then 7:40am, 7:55am, 8:20am 8:40am, 9am, 9:15, 10am… This erratic timetable goes on all day, until the evening service. In Wellington I lived in the middle of a circuit route. The buses went every 15 minutes at rush hour and every half hour at other times. If I needed a bus about 2pm I knew there would be one at 1:45pm the next would be 2:15pm and then another at 2:45pm. I can remember those times even after 20 years.

For several years I worked in the Octagon/Exchange area. Taking bus to and from Brockville was a reasonable choice. I could leave home at 7:30am and be at work by 8am, or leave home at 7:45am and be at work by 8:20am. Brockville buses run on a circuit, some going first to Halfway Bush then to Brockville then to the Octagon, and others to Brockville then to Halfway Bush then to the Octagon. So the later bus in the morning takes 5 minutes longer to get to the Octagon.

A few years ago I started working at the University of Otago. Dunedin’s largest employer. The Brockville bus goes nowhere near the University. Perhaps it was thought that no-one employed at the University would live in a state housing subdivision. I caught the bus most mornings with at least two other people working or studying at the university. The walk from the George Street stop to the University was not too unpleasant, on most days. It takes about 10 minutes, brisk walking. The bus home was a different story. Because the Brockville bus route continues on to St Kilda and then back, it does not travel down George Street, rather heading up Stuart Street after coming along Princes Street. The walk from the University to the Octagon takes about 20 minutes, brisk walking. Again, on most days, not unpleasant. But here’s the problem. If it is cold and wet and I want to take a bus to the Octagon from the University, they all leave at 5pm. That’s when I finished work. In that job leaving 5 minutes early was not possible, in fact leaving 5 or 10 minutes past 5pm was usual. So I would miss the bus to the Octagon. To make matters worse, if I didn’t get out of work until after 5:15 (to pick an arbitrary time) I could well miss the 5:35pm bus from the Octagon to Brockville. “So what” you say. “Get the next bus” The next bus is 6:20pm. That’s 45 minutes later. Who decided that 5:35pm was the end of ‘rush-hour’? After two years in that job I gave up trying and got a University car park and drove every day. It was worth it.

After a break of two years I came back to work, this time on Union Street East. Just a bit further away from George Street and the Brockville buses. It takes me 15 minutes brisk walking to get from the bus stop to work and 25 minutes to get from work to the Octagon. Making catching that 5:35pm bus even harder if I am held up at work. If I am able to leave work a minute or two early I can catch a bus to the Octagon and then transfer to the Brockville bus. Of course I have to pay more because the two buses are run by different companies and I can’t get a transfer ticket.

In my current job, taking the bus I leave home at 7:45am and get to work at 8:30am. In the afternoon if I leave at 5pm and walk to the Octagon I get home at 6pm. Driving I leave home at 8am get to work between 8:15 and 8:20am (depending on traffic and parking). Getting home can be slower because of traffic and my tendency to combine a stop at the supermarket with the journey (something I can’t do on the bus) but I can still walk in the door between 5:15pm and 5:45pm.

From Brockville to the city is $2.40, or $2.16 if I use a Go Card. That’s at least $4.32 each day. If I add the bus trip from the University to the Octagon that’s another dollar. Petrol cost about $2 a litre and the drive is about 15km return (less actually but I like rounding up). In my car doing about 10km per litre that’s a cost in petrol of $3.00. I could add wear and tear costs but I wont. I travel to Hampden every weekend and the return journey is almost 200km. When I take into account that most weeks I will drive to work on Friday morning from Brockville and then go directly to Hampden and often drive down on Monday morning the 45-60km extra per week isn’t that significant.

So how much am I saving taking the bus?

Let’s also take into account the stress of running for a bus when I’m late, missing the 5:35pm and having to hang around for 45 minutes (or pay $20 for a taxi), the risk of catching a cold off other bus travellers, the interesting odour of wet commuters, the inane and colourful language of school students, etc.

Now, why would I catch the bus? I’ll happily pay the extra to drive and park.

Brockville is not a wealthy suburb. Its residents are more likely to find owning a car too costly, or own older less fuel efficient cars. They are more likely to work in jobs that are not regular ‘9-5’ jobs. Cleaners, shift workers, etc. They are also likely to work outside of the city centre. Who needs buses most? Dunedin is too small to accommodate multiple bus companies that don’t work together. We should have one bus ticketing system that allows for transfers across companies. We need routes and timetables that meet the needs of commuters.

Making parking harder doesn’t appear to have altered the driving habits of many University workers, why not try making catching a bus easier.

Ah, my first rant. Boy does that feel good.