The new bus transport plan released by Waikato Regional Council advocates a business as usual approach for Raglan buses. Although bus users and Raglan businesses have publicly complained about the overcrowded buses and the need for surf board storage on the buses, these matters are not covered in the new plan. It seems strange when Waikato District Council officials are currently negotiating with the WRC about additional bus services that these haven’t been included in the draft plan. And the courtesy service that is running now to prevent overcrowding isn’t included. The report does get rather excited about the ‘sub-branding’ of the Raglan service. By this they mean putting stickers with Raglan scenes on the bus. But no real improvements are proposed. The proposal for Raglan is the same as it is now:
23 Raglan – Raglan, Te Uku, Whatawhata to Hamilton Transport Centre
5 weekday peak services, 3 weekday off-peak services and 4 weekend services.
With a school day only service operating from Te Uku to Hamilton Boys High School via Hamilton West and Hamilton East.
The report says that bus fares are likely to go up as a Government requirement for “farebox recovery’ is phased in.
The Waikato Regional Council draft plan on Public Transport is open for public consultation. It can be downloaded at http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Policy-and-plans/Draft-Regional-Public-Transport-Plan-2011-2021-/ or you can ask for them to send a printed copy. Submissions close on the 8th August.