11 hours ago
Wellington's Green Party council candidates promote transport proposals
Photo:
RNZ / Dom Thomas
Green Party candidates for Wellington City and Regional councils say their proposal to give buses priority on key routes would cut some commuter's trips by 10-15 minutes.
The Greens' candidates are proposing creating a new bus corridor down the harbour quays, which they believe will speed up journeys and ease bus congestion on the Golden Mile.
They also support the continuation of the current Golden Mile proposal which would remove car traffic from the route.
Additionally the Greens' want to prioritise buses on Route 2, which goes between Miramar and the City, with traffic light priority and longer higher-capacity buses.
Green Party Regional Council candidate Henry Peach said their plan meant less time stuck in traffic, and buses turning up more often and on time.
"Giving buses priority on key routes will make the bus attractive for more people and reduce car traffic, noise and pollution in the city," Peach said.
"All bus routes that come into the city and and all transport corridors that come into the city will benefit from this because all buses that move through the city will be speed up, they become more reliable and more attractive for people and that ultimately means that more people are going to use public transport," he said.
Peach said more people using public transport would mean the roads were less congested and there would be less vehicles competing for that finite space on the road.
Green candidate for the Eastern Ward Jonny Osborne, said prioritising buses such as Route 2 was the best way to improve access and reduce congestion from the eastern suburbs.
"More than half of us in the east already take the bus. Cutting the trip by up to 15 minutes will make it the logical choice for more of us, meaning less congestion for everyone," he said.
Peach said a priority bus route on the Harbour Quays would cost around $10m while targeted upgrades to Route 2 would cost around $6m.
"So in the scheme of transport projects it's really cheap and it's something that we could kick off in the next few years," he said.
"Which would mean Wellingtonians seeing really significant improvements to public transport within a few years."
