The stop was hand-painted on the road outside Marne Street Hospital in Andersons Bay at the weekend to protest the Otago Regional and Dunedin City Councils’ bus stop placement in the area. Contractors removed the unauthorised stop yesterday.
Bus Users Support Group Otepoti Dunedin co-president Alex King said he knew who the painters were but his group was not responsible for the protest. However, the bus users group supported the cause, Mr King said.
"We’ve been asking for a bus stop in that area for a long time and we haven’t had a lot of response."
Many retirement home residents used the city’s buses but the closest bus stop in Musselburgh Rise was too far for some to walk to, he said.
Other residents in the area had also complained about the lack of an easily accessible bus stop in the area.
"We just think it’s a bit ridiculous that there isn’t a facility there for people to use and it’s also arguably not meeting the service levels we would expect," Mr King said.
When approached for comment yesterday, a representative for the retirement home said they were unaware of the protest or the concerns about the placement of a bus stop in the area.
Regional council public transport team leader Julian Philips said residents were consulted in 2017 about proposed locations for new bus stops in Somerville St (North of Cranston St) and closer to the Marne Street Hospital.
Included the the responses was a petition against removing parking spaces from the area and several signatories asked for a location closer to the power station and park area. Mr Phillips said.
