July Hōngongoi 2026
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Proposed transport changes - have your say
Greater Wellington Regional Council is proposing some sweeping changes for transport to and from Eastbourne and councillors welcome feedback on how these proposed changes will impact you. Councillor Quentin Duthie, chair of the Environment & Climate Committee has presented at recent community meetings across the Hutt to ensure residents are aware of the proposed changes. He has provided this overview for the Herald. "One aim is to improve services to better meet changing demand and community need, guided by priorities in the Regional Public Transport Plan. However, budgets are very tight as costs rise - think diesel prices, driver wages, construction inflation. The Government declined $134m of public transport improvement funding in 2024, forcing us to cancel, defer or rate-fund important capital upgrades including buying new buses to meet demand. The Government also set 'private share targets' that force us to either increase fares or reduce operational costs. We've already
increased fares 35% since 2022 and think that further hikes would be counterproductive. Hence, as a second aim we have tasked Metlink with finding low-impact cost savings.
Metlink has analysed timetables, changing commute patterns, urban growth zones and patronage data and proposed a set of changes to Hutt bus services. Council recently approved the full suite for public consultation good, bad and ugly. Councillors are open-minded and want to hear from the public before deciding which combination of proposals to proceed with. I won't sugar-coat it - Eastbourne is the most impacted suburb, with
Nicola Morris
proposed reductions in frequency and route for the 81, 83 and 84 buses. A proposal to add a ferry sailing and align bus and ferry timetables would mitigate this somewhat. There are also proposed changes to the Eastbourne school bus and night buses, off-peak 83 frequency and to terminate the 84 at Seaview. I'm all for more reliable, better quality, and less expensive public transport, so higher impact changes concern me - as they will many of you reading this. I encourage you to have a good look at the proposals and feedback how they would affect your household and any thoughts you have on how we should balance needs and costs across the Hutt". There will be further opportunities to attend public briefings about the proposed changes but don't delay, these proposed service changes will have a significant impact on Eastbourne and Bays residents. Metlink will publicise the consultation and submission process in early August and if Eastbourne Herald deadlines allow we will update readers in the August issue.
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