Next Stop Nelson Bus Hub – Work At Millers Acre To Start
This new central city transport hub is about bringing together on one site the eBus, InterCity and other bus services such as those to our National Parks, says Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.
Work to transform Millers Acre into the transport hub for Nelson in time for summer is due to start in July.
The development of the site, estimated to cost $2.8 million, will once completed, be the hub for all Nelson bus services including the InterCity, school bus, tourism and eBus services.
'This new central city transport hub is about bringing together on one site the eBus, InterCity and other bus services such as those to our National Parks,' says Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.
'This integration helps grow usage by enabling convenient connections between services and makes public transport easier to find for visitors.
'The shift from the Bridge Street eBus depot to this new Nelson Bus Hub is needed to accommodate the growth in services and because of the upcoming disruption and changes from the Bridge to Better project. This new hub will have six bus bays, compared with four at the current Bridge Street depot. Council intends to sell the old site for development as part of its city revitalisation plans flowing from an expressions of interest process last year.'
Group Infrastructure Manager Alec Louverdis says this exciting project will include not only its very successful ebus service, but also wider services.
'The development of the site will allow for Nelson Tasman's eBuses, tourism, regional and school buses, making it a one-stop-shop for Nelson's coachline services with a much-improved passenger experience.'
The new hub will feature six bus bays, allowing multiple services to operate side-by-side.
Passengers will have a large, comfortable waiting room, with improved air circulation that will assist in colder months. Improved indoor and outdoor CCTV monitoring, linked directly to the police monitoring system, will be installed.
Automated announcements of departures will be broadcast via an audio system with speakers indoors and outdoors. Councillor Campbell Rollo, Chair of the Regional Accessibility Forum, is particularly proud of this new feature.
'The audio system is something that our forum really advocated for alongside some of Nelson's blind citizens. This will benefit not just those who are vision impaired but also our elderly community, parents busy with children and anyone nearby waiting for their bus,' says Campbell.
The upgrades continue outdoors too with new digital displays for bus services and tourist information, increased lighting and outdoor timber seating. Canopies will be installed to ensure dry passage and shade from the waiting room to each bus.
One standout feature of the Nelson Bus Hub will be a rain garden.
'Currently, rainwater from Millers Acre ends up in the Maitai River. A rain garden and a 'jellyfish' device will help protect the ecology of our river system,' says Alec.
The rain garden will look like a standard garden, but with rocks and stones rather than bark. Underneath there will be a filter system that will remove contaminants, cleaning the water before it's discharged into the Maitai River.
During larger weather events, a 'jellyfish' filter will clean the stormwater before discharged into the Maitai.
'Jellyfish is a great way to describe it,' says Alec. 'It's a filter with a number of tentacles that catch litter, debris, oils and even pollutants such as nitrogen and metals.'
The surrounding landscape provided inspiration for the design of the Nelson Bus Hub. Both the outdoor paving and indoor flooring replicate the twists and turns of the Maitai River as it travels to the sea. New landscaping and wayfinding will tie the whole hub together ensuring passengers, whether they are using the InterCity or eBus service, know exactly where their bus will depart.
Initial enabling works for this project included the construction of a new carpark at 41 Halifax Street to provide public parking spaces. The mural of the Kawau on the wall at 41 Halifax introduces a toi Māori element to the hub and will be visible to passengers waiting for their bus.
Moving the hub from Bridge Street aligns with the larger city development project Bridge to Better.
'Not only does it remove the buses from Bridge Street, but it opens the potential for inner-city development.' says Alec.
While contractors are working at Millers Acre all commercial services that use the site will be relocated. Pedestrian access to River Kitchen will be detoured along Trafalgar Street and the Maitai Walkway. The café will continue operating as usual. The toilet block at Millers Acre will be temporarily closed at times during construction.
'Before work begins, we are taking stock of operators who use the carpark,' says Alec.
'We've worked closely with Nelson Coachlines, school bus services and regional tourism services, but we want to ensure that we haven't missed anyone. If you're a commercial operator who uses Millers Acre, please get in contact with Customer Services at Council.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Phase One Milestones In Shaping Our Future Programme Achieved
Press Release – Nelson City Council Council Chief Executive Nigel Philpott says the change will enable the organisation to improve the delivery of services and projects for its customers and community. Nelson City Council has unveiled a new organisational design as it moves into Phase 2 of Shaping Our Future, a five-year internal programme that will modernise how the organisation operates and ensure we deliver even better value for money for our community. Council's current five Group Manager roles will be disestablished and replaced with four new Executive Director roles: Executive Director Delivery: Leads integrated operational services and infrastructure delivery Executive Director People & Customer Experience: Leads strategic transformation, customer experience and people strategy. Executive Director Strategy & Planning: Leads strategy, asset management, and long-term planning. Executive Director Corporate Services: Leads centralised core corporate functions Council Chief Executive Nigel Philpott says the change will enable the organisation to improve the delivery of services and projects for its customers and community. 'This new structure will better integrate the various functions across Council, enhancing collaboration across services and moving us away from working in siloed groups into a 'one council' approach that puts the customer at the core of our business. 'We'll be better organised to focus on our long-term goals and have the breadth and depth of capabilities needed to provide good value for money for our community now and in the future, both at a strategic and operational level.' The various business units across Council will be reorganised to align with this new Directorate structure. Nigel says the changes aren't about downsizing the organisation but spending Council's people budget to better effect. 'We've got great staff doing a lot of good work, but as Council has grown into a complex organisation managing over $2.5 billion in assets, so have the expectations. 'These changes are about rising to those expectations and making it easier for staff to work more efficiently and collaboratively to better serve the community, and maximising value for money.' The new organisation design is one of the outcomes from Phase 1 of Shaping Our Future, a programme based on two years of data, analysis and feedback indicating a strong case for change. 'Through staff workshops; surveys; interviews with elected members and external stakeholders; and feedback from the 2024 City Revitalisation Summit; it became clear that the time is right for our Council to modernise so it can meet the changing needs of our community. We know there are things we do well and areas where we can significantly improve, and we now have a much better picture of what that will look like.' Entirely funded by an internal loan, which ensures the programme remains cost-neutral and has no impact on rates, another key outcome from Phase 1 of Shaping Our Future was a new Operating Model. ' The Operating Model is a blueprint that defines how our people, processes, technologies, and decision-making align with our strategic goals to deliver value for money, and it's what we used to develop our new organisation design,' Nigel says. The model was developed by the Operating Model workstream, one of seven staff-led workstreams tasked with reviewing aspects of the organisation. Creation of the model involved input from Council staff and key stakeholders. In March, 91 staff took part in workshops to explore how Council could work most effectively in the future, which helped to shape the model. 'The model will guide the way Council serves Nelson in the future and is what staff will refer to in Phase 2 when we start making tangible changes to the way we operate to create a more responsive, customer-focused organisation,' says Nigel. Other Phase 1 workstream highlights include: Service Portfolio: reviewed all of Council's services and explored interactive tools for using this data to inform future decision-making and how to get the best 'bang for the buck'. Purposeful Delivery: introduced a project prioritisation framework and began establishing a Programme Management Office (PMO) to better co-ordinate the work delivered across the organisation with a prime focus on value for money delivery. Customer & Community: mapped customer journeys to see where services could be made easier to access and tested these journeys with external focus groups. People: sourced a new Human Resource Information System (HRIS) to update Council's internal systems and significantly increase efficiency. Achievable Long Term Plan (LTP): revising Council's Long Term Plan process to ensure transparency, affordability and strategic alignment with community priorities. 'Shaping Our Future is about asking what's working, what's not working, and then making gradual, sustainable and meaningful improvements to our service,' says Nigel. 'We want to provide lasting value for our community now and in the years ahead.' What's next In July, the Transformation Management Office (TMO) workstream, which facilitates the Shaping Our Future programme, organised an Expo for Council staff to reflect on Phase 1 and look ahead to Phase 2. Nearly 200 staff attended. 'What we heard was clear: our staff are ready to tackle what's ahead and further develop the ways in which this programme will improve the way we work,' Nigel says. While Phase 1 was about information gathering and setting the future direction of the organisation, Phase 2 is all about how the organisation gets there. 'This next phase is about bringing the Operating Model to life and embedding it throughout the organisation,' says Nigel. 'Implementing the new organisation design will be a crucial first step, which will position us to make real changes that improve how we work and serve the public. 'Over time, people will see the difference: an achievable Long Term Plan that prioritises care of our existing infrastructure and services, the smart co-ordination of project delivery through a Programme Management Office, and, following a technology business case that will be put to Elected Members, more self-service options that make interacting with Council easier,' Nigel says. 'This programme is ultimately about ensuring Council does its part to help Nelson thrive —now and in the future.' Phase 2 of Shaping Our Future officially begins 25 August 2025.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- RNZ News
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith launches his re-election campaign
Nick Smith was elected mayor of Nelson in 2022. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee Nelson Mayor Nick Smith has launched his re-election campaign, with a pledge to keep rate increases over the next three years under 5 percent, except in the case of an extraordinary event like a natural disaster. Smith, a former National MP, retired from Parliament in June 2021. He had been the MP for Nelson for 24 years and was elected mayor of Nelson in 2022. He said the cost of living and the increase in rates were the biggest issues facing ratepayers in this year's local elections. "Nelson's rate increases have been lower than most councils over the past three years, despite the huge costs of the August '22 storm damage , but we need to work harder at getting efficiencies and savings to keep rates down." Smith said he was confident that the required investment in infrastructure and city revitalisation could be made while keeping future rate increases to under 5 percent. He signed the pledge at his campaign launch in Nelson on Friday evening. "Nelson rates increased 38 percent during the decade 2010-20 as compared to inflation of 15 percent. My long-term goal is for rate increases to be in line with inflation and economic growth." Smith said he could not achieve the rates cap alone and invited any other council candidates to make an under five rates pledge, which he said was a statement of common policy, not endorsement. "There are wider benefits for Nelson from committing to rates increases of under 5 percent with many councils around New Zealand proposing ongoing double-digit rate rises. A commitment to under 5 percent will give Nelson a competitive advantage in attracting business, investment and people and help our economic recovery." Smith joins current Nelson City councillor Aaron Stallard, Money Free Party New Zealand's Richard Osmaston and John Wakelin in contesting the Nelson mayoralty. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
22-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Playing hide-and-seek with tourists at Mt Cook
Intense moonlight makes Mt Sefton shimmer long after dark. PHOTOS: PAUL GORMAN "It's not even as if they're any good," I muttered to myself, hiding in a thicket of matagouri that blocked me from the view of the people chasing me along the path. It was truly a Victor Meldrew moment. I fully expected a school party to pass on the other side of the bushes, behind me, and start laughing at the sight of a middle-aged man crouching down uncomfortably. What one does for one's (terrible attempts at) art! It was my first time in Aoraki Mount Cook village and the national park for more than 30 years. InterCity had offered a trip to any location they ran services to and, not long after, I found myself on a comfy leather seat in a Great Sights coach trundling across the Canterbury Plains and through the Mackenzie Country, bound for Mount Cook settlement. On the last morning of my two-night stay at the Mt Cook Lodge & Motels — the far less expensive cousin of The Hermitage Hotel up the hill — the frost was twinkling like a disco ball as first light threw back the curtains of night. In those intervening decades I had forgotten how the tallest peaks here loom perilously overhead. It feels like they are pressing down on you, intruding on your personal space in some major breach of health and safety regulations. Aoraki/Mt Cook is of course the main event. At first the mountain is a touch shy, hiding behind the intervening Kirikirikatata Range on the right-hand side of the Hooker Valley until you move far enough to the west. Mt Sefton and the Footstool looming over the village, highlighted by a sunset-tinged lenticular flying high above the Southern Alps. But it is Mt Sefton which really gets the pulse racing. It's just there, right there, almost in the backyard — so big it seems to menace the village. The rock bluffs, the blue-tinged ice falls and the tumbling glaciers make it seem alive, and The Footstool at its eastern end punctuates the mountain like an exclamation mark. I'd long been wanting to leave deadlines behind, get out into the fresh air and drag out the drying-up watercolour paints to produce another load of absolute shockers. The InterCity invite to travel to Mount Cook was the excuse I'd been waiting for. All of which leads me back to my lurkings in a matagouri bush that frosty morning. Crunching the ice crystals satisfyingly underfoot, I'd ventured out into the -3°C morning doing my utmost to summon up the inner artiste, sans the beret but with an old broken satchel full of paints, brushes, watercolour paper, pencils and sponges. There must be gold in them thar hills, on a showery afternoon. The air was so sharp it might shatter, the mountains other-worldly clear in the intense light. I wandered up the Hooker Valley, through the tussock along the edges of the Kea Point Track, crossed Kitchener Creek and turned right towards Foliage Hill, a more than 6000-year-old glacial moraine. Scattered among the grass on the outwash plain are dozens of erratics, table-sized lumps of greywacke and semi-schist rock which had been dumped there back in the day by the glacier. I chose one I could comfortably lean against, with a flattish top, and got out my sketch pad. "Just draw what you see," I helpfully advised myself, and started on a not-too-bad rendition of Aoraki/Mt Cook, thinking I could always paint it later. The peace was so absolute it was almost invasive. There was no sound at all, apart from the scratch of pencil on paper. And then ... Were those distant voices? Yes. And slowly getting nearer. Then I could see puffs of breath. Four of them. They made a beeline for me off the track, wearing expensive designer clothes and waving their arms excitedly while they shouted. I put my pad down. Time to put some distance between the "fans" chasing me through the Hooker valley. The only word we both understood was "Shanghai". I tried talking politely, as they grabbed my sketch book off the rock and riffled through it, picked up and played with my pencils, filmed me doing this, photographed me doing that, posed with their arms round my shoulders. The assault lasted for at least five minutes. At one stage they were about to sashay away, and it was then I made the mistake of starting to draw in front of them. Back they came, with cameras and GoPro, to get some action shots presumably. In the end, I'd had enough. I packed up quickly, and ran off ahead of them along the track. They were waving and shouting out to me as I extended the gap. And that's how I ended up crouching in the bushes, watching them coming, hoping they wouldn't see me as they passed by. If there is now a TikTok clip of me sketching the mountains, I can just imagine the comments: "He's rubbish, why is he promoting himself like that?" ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ I've travelled on hundreds of InterCity bus trips in the past decade or so, the vast majority between Christchurch and Dunedin. The service is generally a good one, but a few have been far from pleasant, with drivers running behind schedule refusing to stop for toilet breaks. This one was different — and it also had a toilet on board. Driver Stuart Alpe kept up the commentary about the landscape and the landforms all the way across the Plains and up to the Hermitage. There were only nine passengers through to Lake Tekapo/Takapō township, and 14 from there. InterCity driver Stuart Alpe at a sightseeing stop overlooking Fairlie. I met Mark and Kathy from Saginaw, Michigan at the Christchurch Bus Interchange about 6.45am on a Monday. They too were somewhat flummoxed at the lack of signs showing where the InterCity services departed from, but we figured we were in the right place, and fortunately we were. The coach left on time and Stuart made plenty of stops on the way, including at Geraldine for coffee, overlooking Fairlie, at Lake Tekapo for pickups and at sightseeing locations along Lake Pukaki. The summit of Aoraki teased us for hours before we arrived in the village, a reminder of just how small the South Island is and how close together things are if you travel in a straight line. If you knew where to look, you could see it peeking above and between the foothills all the way from the Plains through the Mackenzie Basin. The InterCity drivers are happy to drop passengers at their accommodation in the village. However, driver Stuart cautioned against booking hotels via apps based on distance rather than topography. In one case, he had to advise visitors their rooms booked in Franz Josef were actually a seven-hour drive away, even though they were only 30km distant. The bus depot is at the back of the venerable and vibing Hermitage, perched at the top of the village. The hotel is such a bustling place — even if you aren't staying there, you could easily spend a day in the shops and cafe, bookended by breakfast and dinner. It's like an international airport terminal. Dozens of people constantly coming and going, sightseeing vans emptying and filling. Tourists of all nationalities, groups bound for walking tracks, some people carrying umbrellas against the drizzling rain, others with plastic bags over their boots. The Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe & Bar upstairs has breathtaking views of the valley up to Aoraki. But why are so many people playing on their phones rather than drinking it all in? The start of another non-masterpiece on the hotel balcony. This day there were long queues to get lunch, with counter staff working hard to serve everyone but not issuing out many smiles. My cup of mushroom soup and pastrami sandwich cost $20. If you're planning to eat meals at The Hermitage — and there are only a couple of other options in the village, when they're open — make sure you have plenty of money. The buffet breakfast will set you back $42, though the choice of foods is pretty amazing. The smorgasbord dinner costs $84, and personally I found it less impressive than the breakfast. You might want to take it easy when it comes to alcoholic drinks. Sure, the Snowline Bar is warm and cosy, and a great place to hang out by the fire with your new holiday pals. But my double gin and tonic cost $28 and I was asked if I also wanted ice and lemon with it. I resisted saying I wanted the kitchen sink and the Crown jewels too for that price. You can't put a price on everything, though. Such as the mountains standing out in the dark of night in the full moon's light. Or my first-ever sighting of a karearea, flying into the gale-force gusts blowing down the valley. Or sitting on my balcony, painting Mt Sefton as the sun slowly starts to sink in the west and the shadows gather on its grizzled face. That's one piece of "art" the chasers in the Hooker Valley never got to see.
