Half price bus fares arriving but Covid may threaten service

Wednesday, 30 March 2022

Buses will soon be half price, but there is a risk that more drivers will fall sick and services will have to be reduced.

The good news is that NBus fares will be halved from Friday; the potentially bad news is that Covid may put a spanner in the works.

The problem was outlined in Tuesday’s meeting of the regional transport committee, where Nelson City Council manager of transport and solid waste Marg Parfitt told committee members that there was a plan in place in case multiple drivers tested positive.

“So far we have had one driver test positive [for Covid-19]. If the virus spreads and affects more drivers, it is possible we will see some services cancelled at short notice … so we are preparing some communication to remind the Nelson Tasman public that the bus system could be impacted due to driver shortages,” she said.

“The messaging we’re pushing is to ‘know before you go’ and to use the bus tracker app.”

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Bus services are still currently operating normally, but plans are being put in place to handle the eventuality of many drivers falling ill.

She said that “if things get really dire” bus services may revert back to the reduced timetable used during lockdowns “essentially the weekend service with a couple of extra services for commuters”.

The threat looms as half-price fares for public transport funded by the Government take effect for three months from Friday. There is also near-capacity use of buses at peak times in Nelson.

Parfitt said it had been a busy time since the Government fare announcement was made, but she was confident services would be ready to go.

Deputy Mayor Judene Edgar raised concerns about “the intersection between those two points”.

“[We will have] half price fares, and we may have additional people wanting to use the service, but we’ve also talked about how there may be less buses and reduced service.”

She was particularly concerned at how potential changes to services would be communicated to bus users who relied on paper timetables rather than online or on apps.

Parfitt said that all the council could do was encourage off-peak travel, and “if you must travel at peak, the reality is, we may have reduced services if driver shortages hit”.

“It’s not ideal, but it is the situation we find ourselves in.”

She said Track-a-Bus was the preferred method for people to find live updates on bus services.