[Moorf]

Thanks for this suggestion folks - being stuck here in the boonies the words "public" and "transport" aren't usually heard in a sentence together :D

So, where do you live and what is the public transport like, if you have any at all. While cities are well catered for, do you need a car to survive in more rural towns and villages? Do you use the train, tram, bus, ferry, other?

Is there a car-share scheme near you? Would you prefer not to use the car but there's no alternative?

Is the public transport clean/cheap and reliable or is it tired, overly expensive and a bit hit-and-miss?

What about the ferry? What do you think of the prices/trip?

Have you been on the longer train journeys?

Over to you....

[Sam B]

Public transport ..... remind me...... what does it look like?

[katandbob]

Thanks for this suggestion folks - being stuck here in the boonies the words "public" and "transport" aren't usually heard in a sentence together :

So, where do you live and what is the public transport like, if you have any at all. While cities are well catered for, do you need a car to survive in more rural towns and villages? Do you use the train, tram, bus, ferry, other?

Is there a car-share scheme near you? Would you prefer not to use the car but there's no alternative?

Is the public transport clean/cheap and reliable or is it tired, overly expensive and a bit hit-and-miss?

What about the ferry? What do you think of the prices/trip?

Have you been on the longer train journeys?

Over to you....

LOL I'll be the - scratch that - SECOND:laugh

We live about 18km from Invercargill and there is NO public transport.
Jason is not even allowed to catch a lift on the school buses (even though I offered to pay!)

There was once a public bus - and even a train service (That would be a nice trip, as the railway line runs parallel with the river.)

BUT if you live in the CBD then there is a FREE bus route! - mad hey!

So we will soon have 3 cars in our family - but if they had a bus service I'd use it.

WORK has a bus run - but I have to drive half way to town to catch it - leaving my car at the side of the road during work. A lot of folks who work at NZAS who live off the bus route do this too.

There is a private bus company who run a service to the Bluff Harbour for catching the ferry to Stuart Island, BUT this doesn't run at a time which would be suitable for work or school, and its about $10+ one way.

So on respects of Southland- Public transport is GOOD for CBD:nice1
But BAD for anyone outside the City Limits - IN ANY DIRECTION!:( :(

Kat

[Carol]

I hardly ever use public transport here - but when I do - it always amazes me how clean it is.

I had the dubious pleasure of travelling on a train from Newcastle to Carlisle while I was home in April - it was filthy.
On the other side though - the one from Newcastle to York was magnificent.
It was the cost that scared me silly!

It seems SO cheap here in comparison!

[nippa&pippa]

When I live in Burnside, in chch city, I used bus alot cos it is so cheap to use with metro card than using car...:clap
I am very impressed with how frequencies and bus always on time (or bit early...). Most bus drivers was very friendly and helpful, that they prepare to get out of their seat to help me and people move out of their seat to allow the pushchair go to place where wheelchair people go.
I am surprised how clean the bus is too. I have used bus lots in UK, and chch's bus services is lots better...
Now I live in rural location and my nearer bus stop is in Lincoln, so I am now better off to drive to city centre by car....:o

[gpbenton]

In Central Wellington, the public transport has been good enough that I haven't bothered to get a car, even after six months.

I travel by bus to work every day, and it has been very reliable - apart from a period of a few weeks when they must have changed a shift pattern, and the bus in the morning ended up 15 minutes late every day.

Bus drivers are generally friendly and helpful. One stopped near the the golf course, 50 yards from the bus stop one day when he saw I was carrying some clubs.

Buses are generally clean and well upholstered, although some have obviously been around for a long time. But then Kiwis seem to be able to do this with most things. I checked out a 30 year old library book last month, and it was in perfectly usable condition, just a little yellow.

[tecso]

I use public transport in city center, to and from Remuera where I live, and have ventured out around near suburbs. Service is generally very good. And I agree, the buses and trains are very clean.

BUT (isn't there always a but...)

- There is no "transfer" or timed ticket. Every time you board you must pay again. So, if you are accustomed to the major US city custom - this is a surprise. Things can really add up if you have to take 2 buses to and from your destination every day!

- Sunday and sadly WEEKDAYS after 6:30pm bus service is really sporadic (and almost nonexistent in many areas outside of central downtown loop). What a shocker if you stop off for a beer after work with friends and find your last bus is long gone!

[Timbo]

Coromandel region; NO trains (unless you count the Driving creek miniture railway). The only buses as such are the daily magic bus and kiwi experience coach that cater mainly for backpackers. We do have a once a day shuttle service to Auckland, but it is expensive.
As we live on the edge of town, we dont need the car for day to day living really, apart from shopping trips. Having said that, it is only a ten minute walk to the nearest supermarket, but probably half an hour back when carrying heavy loads.
Definately need the car to get anywhere other than town though. Most households have at least 2 cars,....and a boat.
Oh, nearly forgot. There is a ferry service that runs from Auckland to Coromandel most days I think. It is not very well used apparently though.

[Moorf]

Sorry, I lied, we do have some local transport round these parts! :D (video may few secs to d/load)

http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Moorf/?action=view&current=MVI_1128.flv

[Jim&Karen]

Hi Moorf

Is that the train at ShantyTown?

We had a great day out there last November.

Cheers
Jim

[Moorf]

Sure is! I bet you've got the "dunny" photo too haven't you! ;)

I must go back - it's only a couple of hours from here.....

[The Hodges]

The OH & I live in Greenlane, just off the Great South Road and I use the bus to get to and from work (when I'm in the office) and the OH drives to her work.

The Commute
The service is pretty good with buses running every five to ten minutes. I get a seat both ways, which was a big change from my usual London commute. I travel two stages and it takes around 20 mins (or half an hour door to door). If I drove on a good run, it'd take 15 mins, but at rush hour the buses take the bus lanes, so I think it'd be about the same time.

Also, I buy tickets of blocks of 10 in advance, so I save myself 10% off the 'pay as you ride fare'. It also means that I only pay for when I use the bus, rather than a monthly that runs whatever. The cost works out to be roughly $114 per month, which is a great deal less than the £210 per month I was paying... The monthly pass costs $105 per month, but I was finding that I wasn't using it everyday, so it was cheaper for me to get the pre-pay.

The only thing that bugs me is that there are several bus companies, but you can't use your pre-pay card on another company's bus. So sometimes, if there's no Stagecoach, then I just pay when I get on the Howick and Eastern. :rolleyes:

I did think about catching the train as the cost was about the same, but the trains only run every half hour. I do see a number of people waiting on the platform though, so I know that it's popular.

Overall, it's cheaper for me to use public transport for my commute than it is to pay for a car park for the day. I might change to driving though if work decided to pay for my parking pass.

The OH works south of Greenlane, in Ellerslie, and she drives. She has free parking, which is the main driver (pun intended).

Generally
Otherwise we drive everywhere. I also have a pass in to the building where I work, so we can park underneath it, out of office hours, for free.

Further Afield
If I'm going somewhere further afield, then I fly e.g. to Napier, but that was there and back in a day (an hour in the air compared to 4-5 driving); or drive e.g to Tauranga (twice), Waihi (once) and more recently Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Whangerei and Dargaville. I had to drive to get across the country, as public transport is not feasible.

I did look in to seeing if you could catch the train to Napier, but as far as I could see, it couldn't be done.

The OH also flew to Christchurch recently, which is quicker than training it.

Hope that this helps.

[The Hodges]

Nearly everyone thanks the bus driver when they get off. Now there's something that didn't happen when I was living in the UK...

[gpbenton]

I do it now. Its amazing how quickly you can fall in to the local habits.

[Milliemoo]

We live in Auckland and neither of us drive :nice1

I think the public transport in Auckland is actually very good when you consider the land area/population ratio.

It does take a while to work out the best routes and best value fares/tickets, but that's understandable moving to a big city.

We live in Devonport and it's much quicker and easier to take the ferry into town than to drive...even if we could. The ferry service is very good and generally quite reliable. It costs $9 return, but most people wouldn't pay that. If you live in Devonport you'd generally buy a 10 trip pass for $35 which brings the cost down to $7 return. The service runs every half hour (even on Christmas Day !) and there's late ferries at the weekend (1am).

There's heaps of different passes that you can buy and it's worth reading up to see what suits you best. My hubbie works in Ellerslie and there's a great pass which includes the ferry + train to Ellerslie for $39 pw. He can do door to door in 45mins if he makes his connections.... it would take at least an hour to drive in rush hour.

If I'm going out and about for the day, I tend to buy a $14 day pass which I can use on pretty much everything, including the trains, most ferries and bus companies. There's also a $9 day pass which I can use on the ferry and stagecoach buses.... just depends what I'm doing and where I'm going.

Lots of options to suit most people. Drivers/Ticket Collectors are generally very pleasant and helpful. Services generally very clean.

Suits us :nice1

Milliemoo