Palmerston North bus system under review

Massey students in Palmerston North are about to get an even better bus network after public consultation on two options for improvement. 

Regardless which of the two presented options are picked, the Horizons Regional Council has proposed to simplify and improve the services that go directly to and from Massey. 

According to council info, the direct service between Massey and the city centre would run every 15 minutes at peak times and every 30 minutes outside of peaks. Direct services to other places from Massey would be limited to only run at key times. 

The first of the two main options offered in the consultation involves more bus routes with an expansion of the network. This means passengers could get off at stops closer to home. Buses would still run every 30 minutes from 6:30am to 8pm Sunday to Wednesday, and 6:30am to 9pm Thursday to Saturday. 

“The majority of the city would be within 400 metres (around a 5-minute walk) of a bus stop,” the Council said. 

The second option doubles the frequency of buses during peak times to one every 15 minutes. The Council says they consider peak times to usually be 7-9am and 3-6pm, Monday to Friday. The service’s operating hours would be the same as option one. 

According to the Council both options cost about the same to implement, about $7.9 million. 

Student Angus thinks the consultation is a nice idea, although he is mostly fine with the buses as they are. 

“Admittedly it takes 30 minutes which is long but, I don’t know, I enjoy the ride,” he said. 

Student Phoebe decided to vote for option two. 

“That was for selfish reasons. I have a bus stop outside my house, so it didn’t matter if they extend the services elsewhere, plus I just think it’s the better option overall,” she said. 

The deadline for consultation was recently extended to 5pm Friday 17 September for anyone who still wants to have their say.