Dunedin bus hub to open this month

The Great King St bus hub takes shape last month. Photo: Peter McIntosh
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The Great King St bus hub takes shape last month. Photo: Peter McIntosh
The Otago Regional Council announced today the Great King St hub would be officially opened on March 20, after being beset with delays.

It would become operational the next day and routes would be integrated into it over the next week.

Tag on, tag off ticketing is expected to be introduced in the third quarter of this year.

The hub, on the street between Moray Pl and St Andrew St, has 10 bus bays, shelters, seating, toilets and stops with audio buttons.

It will eventually contain a cafe kiosk.

The hub is meant to centralise public transport in the city and ease congestion on George St.

Most construction was completed and the road is expected to be opened in both directions on Monday.

The cost it $5.4 million and rising, compared to the $4.4 million set when the project outline was announced in July last year.

Council support services manager Gerard Collings said this was largely due to the road condition not being what was expected.

Of that the Dunedin City Council will pay $400,000.

Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said the hub represented an important investment in modernising and simplifying Dunedin's public transport network.

"Bus patronage is on the rise in Dunedin and combined with earlier improvements to the network, the new hub will deliver a connected and efficient service to the growing number of people choosing to take the bus."

The hub would streamline services for passengers and improve traffic flow through town, he said.

Cr Michael Deaker said changes to individual services would be minimal, he said.

The hub project was earlier beset with multiple delays and cost overruns.

Comments

"The cost it $5.4 million and rising, compared to the $4.4 million set when the project outline was announced in July last year." Add to this the cost of ORC salaries over 4yrs plus PR staff telling us how wonderful it is.

What a joke,don't worry the ratepayers/taxpayers have got more money than they need,this stupidity is only surpassed by our stellar cycle ways that nobody use's except in part time Mayor Dave Cull's fantasies and delusions.

 

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