Neighbourhood Support Manawatū has published a report proposing a new rural community transport service for Manawatū District. The report and proposal are based on a survey that was undertaken in August-October 2021.
The need for a rural community transport service in Manawatū has been discussed by various groups in different forums for more than three years. In June 2021 a steering committee was established to continue exploration into a rural community transport service, following earlier research by Āpiti residents in 2019 & 2020.
Establishment of a rural community transport service is supported widely across the Manawatū district and based on survey respondents alone, 335 people would use the service immediately or within five years.
The proposed service would operate on a daily basis, five days a week, offering pick up from a chosen address and transport to and from Feilding, with the ability to transport shopping, mobility aids.
Financial estimations in the report show that the service could be established for less than $160,000, with annual operating expenses estimated at less than $150,000 not including any revenue from ticket sales.
This report and proposal has been submitted to Horizons Regional Council in response to the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-32 (RPTP), and shared with Manawatū District Council in the hopes of discussing funding opportunities and next steps.
The work to undertake the survey and complete this report has been funded by Manawatū District Council’s community development fund.