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Georgia Broomhall (19) waits for her ride at Dunedin's bus hub yesterday afternoon. PHOTO: GREGOR...
Georgia Broomhall (19) waits for her ride at Dunedin's bus hub yesterday afternoon. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Apart from a few bumps, everything seems to be running smoothly as Dunedin's bus hub becomes fully operational.

Routes have been diverting to the new Great King St centre of the city's public transport over the last week and changes were complete as of yesterday.

Most commuters at the hub yesterday spoke positively of the changes.

Vandana Datt said the new routes made her trip to Halfway Bush a lot quicker; however, initially she could not figure out where to go.

Conveniently, the bus now dropped her directly outside her workplace.

Georgia Broomhall said the hub was a great idea, but some drivers were not used to the new routes yet.

"My family were left in town at night when the bus didn't go down the route it was meant to, but I'm sure that will [buff] out."

Going down the one-way system to Port Chalmers meant the trip was a lot faster, she said.

Kevin Phillips said his trip was "a little bit" quicker now.

"I have not noticed George St being less busy, but I hope that it is."

Personally he could not see how the cost of the hub was justified.

Otago Regional Council transport manager Gerard Collings said the transition went "exceedingly well".

"We can attribute that to the bus operators and bus drivers, as well as the ORC public transport team."

There were "minor teething issues" with drivers arriving early or stopping at the wrong stop, as expected, he said.

Roadworks across Dunedin had created delays that the network would have experienced "regardless of the bus hub transition".

Yesterday there were 983 trips through the hub, and the coffee stall was selling about 500 cups per day.

The council received some feedback about the level of shelter and further walking distances from some locations.

"Otherwise, the response has been relatively quiet, which leads us to believe that people are adjusting to the new location."

Drivers had mostly commented positively about council's investment in the hub, he said.

Smiths Sport Shoes co-owner Greg Lapwood said business at his Great King St shop had not increased since the hub opened, but it was "early days".

Comments

I wish the Bus Hub was Smokefree

Blow your own trumpet why don't you.............
"Otago Regional Council transport manager Gerard Collings said the transition went "exceedingly well".
"We can attribute that to ................... as well as the ORC public transport team."

 

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