Media Release – 23 February 2007

Chamber Welcomes Stagecoach Response

Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce welcomes the constructive response of Stagecoach and the Regional Council to its service failures of the last two weeks. Wellingtonians make more use of public transport, including buses, than any other people in the country. Last week’s disruptions were therefore widely felt.

“The immediacy and seriousness of the response from Stagecoach and its parent Infratil highlights the difference of having this company in local ownership”, said Charles Finny, Chamber CEO.

“We recall that when Infratil purchased the buses in late 2005 it expressed an intention to improve the service to be world class. The Chamber welcomed that commitment and understood at the time that such a transformation might hit the occasional speed bump. What is most important is that this transformation to a truly world class service is delivered. If, in a year’s time, we have a Stagecoach that is called GO Wellington, GO Wellington owns a new fleet of trolley buses, if passengers can use these buses with the convenience of an electronic ticket, and if the culture of the company has improved and rubbed off on the drivers, a bad week will be a small price to pay”.

“We are also pleased to see that Stagecoach is giving a substantial discount to users in March as compensation and because it wanted to make it clear that the disruption should hurt it more than it had hurt disadvantaged users. It is gratifying to hear of a corporate willing to take responsibility and to offer compensation without the usual excuses”, Charles Finny continued.

“While Stagecoach has moved fast to rectify its performance problems, these difficulties have highlighted the problems that businesses in Wellington and around the country face from labour and skills shortages. Likewise a significant cause of the delays being experienced by consumers is the traffic congestion resulting from our inadequate roading infrastructure. These problems can’t be solved overnight but will require concerted action by Government at local and central level. The Chamber has taken note of the criticisms of Stagecoach by Regional Councillors. The Chamber reminds the Regional Council and Wellington City Council of their responsibilities with regard to roading infrastructure. In particular, the Chamber is concerned about constant delays over progress on the Ngauranga to Airport corridor, the corridor experiencing most congestion in the region. As anyone who travels in this area recently knows, this congestion is getting worse. The Chamber hopes that recent complaints from the public have emphasised to the Regional and City Councils the importance of accelerating work on this corridor study, and of prioritizing expenditure so that deficiencies can be addressed as a matter of utmost urgency”, Charles Finny concluded.

ENDS

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