‘Use or lose’ Stoke OnDemand bus – Nelson mayor
The service caters to a larger area than the Stoke Loop bus it replaced but has seen fewer passengers since its launch. Photo: Max Frethey.
“Use it or lose it” is the message Nelson Mayor Nick Smith has for residents about the Stoke OnDemand bus service.
The new and expanded eBus service has been in place for seven months and includes the OnDemand bus, a ride-sharing service that shuttles users anywhere in Stoke between the boundaries of Saxton Field, Monaco, Marsden Valley, and Beatson Rd, and can be used to connect into the main eBus network.
With at least 200 virtual stops across the suburb, eBus OnDemand services a much wider area but has seen fewer passengers than the old Stoke Loop bus it has replaced.
Nelson City Council told Local Democracy Reporting in December that the service had an average of 116 journeys a month, just over 100 journeys fewer than the old Stoke Loop. The contract cost for the OnDemand service accounts for 50km of travel per day. Currently, it only travels an average of 10km each day.
“I’m just worried about how much the Stoke OnDemand service is costing vis-à-vis its level of use,” Nick said at last week’s meeting of the Nelson Tasman’s joint transport committee.
The OnDemand service will be assessed during the review of the entire eBus network in August, a year after its launch, but some measures are being undertaken to try and boost its patronage.
From 1 April, the service will be expanded to include the Junction retail outlet in its area, and council officers have also prepared an improved communications plan about the service.
“The message that the transport committee should provide to the broader community on Stoke OnDemand is ‘use it or lose it,’ Nick said.
“Happy to do a bit more tweaks to see if we can get it to work, but the public need to be aware that with the very low level of usage, I don’t think we can maintain [the service].”
Transport and solid waste manager, Margaret Parfitt, said that the Stoke Loop service had been withdrawn over similar concerns in the past.
However, it was reinstated after local outcry, albeit on the reduced 9am to 3pm weekday schedule, which the eBus OnDemand service also employs.
“Some of the users were… ‘transport disadvantaged’, so the service was really there to meet a social need,” she added.
