Dear Wellington Regional Council,

I would like information (a reasonable aggregate form is fine, I don't need the specific text of complaints made, for instance) about complaints and feedback received by Metlink and the Reigonal Council regarding changes to access between Mairangi and the Wellington City since the introduction of the "new" bus system in July of 2018.

I am particularly interested in complaints and feedback regarding changes to the number 13, number 22 and number 23 bus services, but other complaints and feedback not related to specific bus routes that concern access between Mairangi and the CBD would also be of interest.

I would also like copies of any discussions or plans, preliminary or otherwise, which have been undertaken as a result of these complaints. In particular I would like copies of communication or other information that demonstrates that this feedback has been understood and acknowledged, and copies of plans that have been made or considered, processes that have been put in to place or other responses to this feedback.

Thank you,
Michael Fincham

Hi Nichola,

Thanks for this information. It is interesting, however it doesn't address the questions I posed in my OIA. I will quote you again my original e-mail: The information that has been provided is mainly to do with "trying to make connections work", which is a subset of what I've requested, but a small and relatively inconsequential component to my mind.

"I would like information (a reasonable aggregate form is fine, I don't need the specific text of complaints made, for instance) about complaints and feedback received by Metlink and the Reigonal Council regarding changes to access between Mairangi and the Wellington City since the introduction of the "new" bus system in July of 2018."

No information about complaints or feedback has been provided. For instance, not even a tally number of complaints or feedback items lodged has been given.

"I would also like copies of any discussions or plans, preliminary or otherwise, which have been undertaken as a result of these complaints. In particular I would like copies of communication or other information that demonstrates that this feedback has been understood and acknowledged, and copies of plans that have been made or considered, processes that have been put in to place or other responses to this feedback."

I would expect this request to result in a great deal more information than has been provided. I seem to have been given a portion of two memos.

I would expect to see e-mail discussions, records of times and places of meetings at which these issues were discussed, solutions that were put forward and discounted and the reasoning why these were discounted, admissions of repentance or sorrow from GWRC staff at the mistakes that have been made, acknowledgements or copies of records kept internally within the GRWC that complaints are being made (for instance, reports or summary information from ticket tracking or problem management systems) or that the route design changes are insufficient and so on. I can't imagine that the GWRC doesn't use e-mail or keep meeting minutes, the text of which should be available to the public for the purposes of democratic transparency.

If it helps you understand the context of this request: I'd just like evidence that there is any human being at the GRWC who understands the emotional toll that their mismanagement of the bus network has caused, and that there is work being undertaken to fix it. I've asked through the regular support channels over and over again in the last seven months and been denied simple and reasonable explanations of what is being done to fix the problems with the bus network. This is why I'm excersizing my rights to see the inner workings of the process.

Thank you,
Michael Fincham

Dear Nichola Powell,

Apologies, I see there is a third PDF with the contents of an e-mail included that does contain some summary figures (for instance the number of 612 complaints).

I laughed out loud at the line "Any substantial changes to services would also be subject to community consultation". Thanks for the entertainment.

Yours sincerely,
Michael Fincham

Dear Nichola Powell,

Acknowledging that GW is unlikely to provide further useful information on this request, so I am going to close it within FYI.org.nz.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Fincham