Timaru Link service to run its last loop on Friday, three new MyWay vehicles hit the road two days later

It’s the end of an era as Timaru’s Link service will run its last loop on Friday before being replaced by the regional council’s on-demand service.

Environment Canterbury’s community transport advisor Jess Pauling announced the Link service would be finishing on Friday and three new super low-floor MyWay vehicles will hit the roads on February 20.

In November, ECan announced its decision to stop the link service, Timaru’s last remaining fixed-route bus service, finding it was no longer sustainable after the successful introduction of MyWay.

“The Link represents the end of an era, as Timaru’s last remaining fixed-route bus service. Our three other routes were replaced in June 2020 by the on-demand service,” Ecan general manager public transport Stewart Gibbon had said.

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“Now, with our community accustomed to using on-demand public transport, so few people are using the Link that it is clearly no longer sustainable as a service.”

The new MyWay vehicles added to the fleet will replace one older vehicle and will increase the capacity of the service, and cater for passengers with mobility needs.

“Customers can request a low-floor vehicle when booking,” he said.

He said a new T3 school service has been added to accommodate school children travelling on the Link route.

The news of the Link service being discontinued saw 11 people giving ECan feedback on the decision since it was announced.

“These are a mix of positive or neutral responses – alongside some which raise concerns about things like losing a familiar bus route,” Gibbon said.

He added there would be support for bus users to change to the new service, with all customers already offered information, a tutorial and vouchers to try it free of charge.

Concerned residents had also written to The Timaru Herald with one saying they were “alarmed” to hear the Link service was being discontinued and another saying, although they support the MyWay service, “the current system needs to be improved”.

The concerned resident also raised concerns about the different wait times of the MyWay service and the different routes it takes comparing it to the fixed timetable and route of the Link service.

The person said the link service provided transport to main points in town like supermarkets, schools, the hospital, CBD and the library and the fixed timetable, which was better for planning.

“The MyWay minibus alternative often has longer wait times before travel commences,” the person said.

“A smaller bus covering the same route possibly one-way on a set timetable would become a more economical option.”

Gibbon said ECan considered the potential for a smaller vehicle on the Link route.

However, it was “ruled out” because of the Link’s low patronage, as it would require a dedicated vehicle and driver for an entire day.

“This means that vehicle and driver cannot be utilised on the rest of the MyWay service, where patronage is significantly higher at 600 rides a day (during our consultation and review period, we found that the Link had around 30 daily customers, excluding school students).

“The nature of the MyWay service means we can scale it up or down depending on demand. With MyWay patronage growing rapidly, we will be introducing new vehicles early next year, and will regularly review this.”

The council had undertaken consultation with Link service users in July last year to understand how often people were using it, that process found 96 regular users and 20 who did so daily, he said.

“Given the size of Timaru, with a population of 28,600, a very small number of people are still using the Timaru Link. We need to compare this to those using MyWay by Metro, which averages 600 boardings, or around 300 people, a day.

“We, of course, have a financial responsibility to Timaru’s ratepayers, and we simply can’t continue to operate the Timaru Link for around 30 daily customers, excluding school students, over the 26 trips run each week.”

In December, the Government announced MyWay would be getting a central hub in the town’s main street as part of the $350 million Transport Choices deal from Transport Minister Michael Wood and according to the press release is “building on the successful MyWay public transport service in Timaru”.

The release said it will be “a flagship installation of an innovative quick-build central hub for MyWay users by Metro on-demand public and other passenger vehicle transport service”.

The timetable for the new T3 school service can be found on Metro.co.nz/Timaru.