Massive increase in visitors to Mt Ruapehu leads to new shuttle service
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
A massive increase in visitors to Mt Ruapehu has prompted the opening of a new shuttle service to help alleviate some of the pressure this ski season.
Construction on the $1.6m Park and Ride facility is now underway in the National Park Village.
Ruapehu Land Transport manger, Warren Furner, said this facility will not cause the same issues that arose during the first day of the Park n' Ride service that was opened two years ago.
The 2017 Park 'n Ride service caused massive traffic congestion issues that hampered emergency services and angered residents but those issues have apparently been addressed with this new facility.
READ MORE: Record numbers of skiers cause traffic issues for Ruapehu
'There was a reason why that happened. The buses in that transitional year didn't go and pick up around the streets and we encouraged people to drive from their hotels to a temporary car park which was just a gravel patch with no designated painted parks,' Furner said.
'The hotel carparks were empty and the temporary one couldn't cope.'
Furner said the point of difference for this facility, is the scheduled public transport service and the carparks equipped to take on the number of cars.
The project – which has been majority funded through government's Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) – will provide an integrated transport hub for road and rail services in response to growing visitor numbers.
Furner said that the new facility would help manage the growing pressures on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC) and Whakapapa ski area while bringing commercial opportunities to the Village and region.
'The popularity of the TAC together with the year round growth in visitor numbers to the wider Tongariro National Park including the ski areas has seen capacity issues develop over the past few years along with associated safety and environmental issues,' he said.
'The new Park and Ride facility will provide day and overnight parking supported by services including; public toilets, showers, BBQ facilities, a dump station and refuse facilities, WiFi connectivity, bus, train and shuttle connections and electric vehicle charging stations.
'With current facilities already at capacity government co-funding has been vital to enabling Ruapehu to make the necessary infrastructure investment to support regional tourism development and NZ's tourism business growth agenda.'
The opening of the new gondola at Whakapapa, scheduled for around June, is anticipated to bring an additional 300,000 visitors to Ruapehu every year growing to 500,000 by 2025.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive Ross Copland said the Park and Ride project is a positive step.
'We are really supportive of it. It certainly will improve the experience of visitors to the National Park,' he said.
Turner added that while Ruapehu welcomes the challenges and opportunities brought about by growing visitor numbers, they also take very seriously the tiakitanga responsibilities to care for the Tongariro National Park (TNP) and its guests.
Furner said Ruapehu District Council's land transport activity has a vision to work with government and other partners including iwi and DOC to make the Tongariro National Park (TNP) carbon free and have all transport services and on-mountain services powered through renewable energy sources.
'The new park and ride facility is an important part of our progression toward this vision in helping to keep vehicles off the road and out of the TNP, people safe, as well delivering real environmental benefits.'
The Park and Ride facility is due to be completed by mid-June.