People in Ōtaki say they are in “no man’s land” when it comes to transport options.

A Metlink bus service runs infrequently through the town and south to Waikanae, the time between buses generally at least 50 minutes and extending to more than two hours in the middle of the day. Meanwhile, the only rail option is the Capital Connection train service, which only runs to south in the morning, and north in the evening.

It also falls between the gaps when it comes to local authorities. Ōtaki is covered by Kāpiti Coast District Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, but when it comes to medical coverage, it falls into the Midcentral District Health Board area. No public transport connections head north.

Ōtaki College principal Andy Fraser said the town was cut off, and it had a big effect on people’s livelihoods and their health.

“If any of our young people need to get to Levin or Palmerston North, there is no public transport at all,” Fraser said.

“And if they want to head south to Kāpiti or Wellington, they’re much better off driving because the public transport we do have is pretty unreliable and slow. It’s a very limited bus service.”

Ōtaki’s bus service, the 290, runs from Waikanae north to Ōtaki and back again just 11 times a day, starting about 6.30am, and running until 7.20pm. The gap between services is about 50 minutes in the morning and afternoon, but there can be two-hour gaps between services during the middle of the day. It takes about 40 minutes for someone to ride from the Ōtaki library to Waikanae Railway Station.

Kāpiti Coast councillor Gwynn Compton said Ōtaki needed a reliable option for public transport.

But he said towns like Ōtaki had been forgotten and left to fend for themselves when it came to Government funding decisions around public transport.

“At the moment, people are literally just driving, or they’re not going anywhere. There aren’t any other options,” Compton said.

ROSA WOODS/STUFF

People in Ōtaki have little option but to drive given the quality of bus services. (File photo_

“With the price of fuel, it makes it even harder for people in Ōtaki to get around.”

Fraser said Ōtaki hada considerable number of people who were on lower incomes or unemployed, and rising fuel prices were hitting them hardest.

“I know of kids who can’t get jobs because they can’t get to the workplace,” Fraser said. “I know of young people who have been late to work because a bus didn’t arrive, and then they’re labelled as unreliable.

“That’s not the case at all. But in Ōtaki we don’t have reliable options to get around, and so it’s having a huge impact on employment, and on things like social and economic inequality.”

Extending electrification of the rail network to Ōtaki from Waikanae has long been talked about, but is yet to make any concrete progress.

The Greater Wellington and Horizons regional councils have made a business case for introducing hybrid trains between Wellington and Palmerston North, but it failed to gain support from the Government in the 2022 Budget.

Greater Wellington chairperson Daran Ponter said the funding decision was disappointing, but not surprising.

The Government funded the business case for the proposal, a $5m decision from 2020, but Ponter said to not fund it now meantrail improvements couldn’t be made for some years.

“Buying trains is not like going down to the Ford dealer and buying a few cars,” Ponter said. “The tender process will take at least a year, the manufacturingprocess will take three to four years.

“And then the commissioning process will take another six months to a year. So you know, there's four to five years lead-in time and if we don't get the process underway soon, five years can soon become six or seven.”

Transport Minister Michael Wood has said the funding for rail isn’t off the table permanently, and would be considered again next year.

In a letter to the heads of Greater Wellington and Horizons, Wood said the Government would be exploring the option for the 2023 Budget.

Ponter said when the rail service was improved, Ōtaki could expect trains running every 30 minutes in both directions during peak times.

Compton said that was a lost opportunity not to fund it now given the benefits it would bring.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF

Transport Minister Michael Wood said a hybrid train link through Ōtaki isn’t completely off the table.

In the meantime, he said Greater Wellington and Metlink should commit to additional services in Ōtaki and south to Waikanae.

“They need to be upping the frequency, and also the speed of the connection to Waikanae,” Compton said. Some buses spent 20 or 30 minutes driving around Ōtaki before heading south.

“It’s just so long, and it’s putting people off using the bus.”

Anecdotal reports suggested people in Ōtaki weren’t using the bus service because it was unreliable, infrequent and slow. “If they had a service they could rely on, and ran more often, then we’d see a lot more people getting on the bus in Ōtaki,” Compton said.

Ponter admitted Ōtaki had a degraded service, and the regional council would have to look at improving the frequency of buses. The town was in a catch-22 situation, with low uptake of public transport making people question the need for investment.

“But often in public transport, you've got to bite the bullet, put in a better service, and then watch the uplift as a consequence of that,” Ponter said. “So we will look at increasing the frequency.”

Greater Wellington and Horizons would also be discussing public transport options heading north of Ōtaki.

Fraser said it was particularly important that Ōtaki’s public transport was sorted out as a new expressway meant traffic was set to bypass the town.

The expressway has been delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but Waka Kotahi won't say how long the delays might be. It is hoped it will open by the end of the year, but could be delayed until 2023.