ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Culture
BUS CAN’T BE LATE IF IT’S CANCELLED
Emily Whiting was already running late for work, and the last thing she needed was for her regular bus from Newtown to Lambton Quay to be cancelled with no explanation.
But after gazing up at her bus stop’s schedule sign in Newtown, she saw the dreaded and now very much familiar “cancelled” writing next to the service she was meant to take.
“Oh wow, look, my bus is cancelled. At this stage it would be weirder to see a bus actually stop in a bus-stop if I’m honest,” said Whiting, who has become used to waiting for a bus that is clearly never going to come.
Metlink has been notorious for cancelling buses and will often cancel thousands a month. This has left many commuters frustrated and questioning why they even bother with the service that isn’t actually providing any service.
On the plus side for Metlink, with all late buses being cancelled, leaving only the ones that are running to schedule, they have ended up with a near perfect on-time rate.
Metlink responded to The Whakataki Times request for comment and released a brief statement.
“We figured that if we just cancel the buses altogether, then people can’t complain about them running late. Can’t blame the bus for being late to work if you aren’t on one” Metlink’s statement read.
As Whiting began her long walk to Lambton Quay from Newtown, her mind wandered towards other possible means of transport.
“I’ve never owned a car of course because I want to be kind to the environment, but I’m seriously considering getting one now. Better to be stuck in traffic than not being in traffic at all right?”
More to come.
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