Changes to bus timetables could throw commuters in Wellington

By Nicholas Pointon

There may be some confusion for commuters as Tranzit begins operating the Hutt Valley bus routes today, the company says.

The Wairarapa bus company won the contract to take over 60 percent of Wellington's bus routes from NZ Bus in May last year.

Commuters can expect minor changes to bus timetables and the introduction of Saturday services for selected routes over the coming weeks.

Tranzit managing director Paul Snelgrove said there were contingencies in place to manage any confusion among commuters.

"The regional council are going to have ambassadors at all the bus stops for the first two weeks and travelling around notifying people of changes,

"Whenever there's a change there's always someone who's disadvantaged and there's someone who has as an advantage."

Mr Snelgrove said there would be many advantages to commuters who use the bus services in the Hutt Valley.

"Firstly, [there will be] brand new, state-of-the-art Euro 6 buses - that's a huge plus. Every vehicle is fully air-conditioned, heating and cooling - that's another huge advantage."

The new lime-green buses featured low-emission diesel engines, Mr Snelgrove said.

"Obviously with the less emissions standards there's going to be less pollution in the air in Wellington."

Greater Wellington Regional Council spokesperson Peter Thornbury said Sunday would be the first phase of changes taking place in the Hutt Valley.

"What we're doing is we're slightly changing the bus timetables now so that they will mesh with the timetable changes that happen on the trains in July - and those are mainly off-peak.

"So what you might find is that they are a bit clunky for now, but they'll improve in July when the changes happen."

New buses, timetables and bus routes will be rolled out in Wellington from 15 July.