Page 6 - Demo

roundup
a look at bus news around the country
BOOM CONTINUES
e number of international visitors has climbed by more than 40 per cent in the past decade. Statistics NZ has reported more than 3.7 million visitors arrived in the last nancial year, up from 2.4 million in 2008. Australians still account for
most annual arrivals, with more than 1.4 million visits in the last nancial year. e largest surge in visitor numbers has been from further a eld in the past two nancial years, including the Philippines and Brazil.
People from Argentina represented the biggest jump, with 23,296 visitors arriving last nancial year - 38 per cent up on the previous year.
Holidaymakers remain the biggest section of the overseas visitor market, followed by people visiting friends and relatives. Auckland Airport was the rst port of call for most international visitors, although Queenstown, Christchurch and seaports all experienced a boost.
INQUIRY ANNOUNCED
e Government has launched an investigation into the safety of buses
a er three serious bus crashes in late July and August. e BCA has welcomed the investigations and will work with o cials to understand and identify any common causes or issues relating to these crashes and get the best possible outcomes for operators and passengers.
Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the three recent bus crashes were a cause for
Tourism numbers continue to climb.
concern and he has asked the Ministry of Transport and the NZ Transport Agency to look at the incidents.
e rst incident occurred on 28 July and 11-year-old Hannah Francis died when the vehicle she was travelling in rolled near Turoa ski eld.
In the second incident 19 people were injured a er the bus they were travelling in crashed into a ditch alongside State Highway 1 in the Manawatu on 2 August.
In the third incident 69-year-old Taranaki bus driver Allan Campbell died, with his vehicle leaving the road on State Highway 3 in Taranaki on 8 August. 13 school children on board su ered minor injuries.
All three buses involved in the crashes were Mitsubishi Fuso models.
Mr Twyford said the investigation would allow him to see the facts and identify if there were any common elements within
the three crashes. He said the Ministry of Transport would look at the incidents from a policy perspective, and NZTA would take a more operational approach. “ ey will come back with a report and we will see if there are any further actions required.”
■ See story page 14.
AUCKLAND
SCHOOL BUS COST UNNECESSARY
Auckland Transport (AT) has defended its attempts to axe school buses, saying it can cost an extra $50,000 to $100,000 a year to operate an extra bus o en only needed on a single school route.
AT says more than 70 per cent of students
catch regular public transport to school and AT only provides school buses where there is no suitable public option.
e new central city bus network that came into e ect on 8 July saw a number of complaints about the loss of school buses and other changes from the roll out of new bus networks across the city.
Similar complaints in East Auckland last year forced AT to reinstate some school buses and improve other bus services, a er more than 1400 parents signed a petition. AT admitted it “could have done a better job” in engaging with parents earlier.
An AT spokesperson said as part of
the new bus network, AT had to assess whether or not school bus services should continue or change.
HELTER SHELTER
$1.2 million was spent on repairs of
bus shelters across the Auckland region in 2017. A further $3674 was spent on replacing missing bus shelter seats.
e gures showed that North Auckland raked up the highest bill of $533,000
for bus shelter repair works in 2017, while Central Auckland had almost $400,000 worth of works done. Damage in West Auckland and South Auckland cost $176,000 and $159,000 respectively. AT spokesman Mark Hannan said
the “senseless vandalism of seats” was particularly concerning. He said the cost of vandalism a ected AT’s ability to make improvements.
6 CIRCULAR SEPTEMBER 2018 WWW.BUSANDCOACH.CO.NZ