Wellington’s train and bus commuters will be asked to take part in a ‘mini census’ over the next few weeks.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, which oversees public transport, says the survey results would help Council staff plan long-term transport needs.

“Our planning staff rely quite heavily on the five-yearly census for information about trends in travel patterns, which areas are growing, which routes are in heavy demand etc. But of course the census that should have been held earlier this year was put off because of the Christchurch quake. So instead, Council staff will carry out their own mini-census of train and bus users. The information gathered over the next few weeks will be fed into the Public Transport Spine Study, for example.”

The Wellington Public Transport Spine Study is identifying and assessing the feasibility of options for a high quality public transport system through Wellington CBD, from Wellington Railway Station to the regional hospital in Newtown.

Starting next week, train commuters will be given a survey at the station to complete on the train. Commuters at all stations on the Johnsonville Line will be surveyed next Tuesday 16 August followed by Upper Hutt Line commuters on Wednesday 17 August, Kapiti Line commuters on Thursday 18 August and Melling Line commuters on Friday 19 August.

Morning peak hour commuters and those travelling around the middle of the day will be surveyed.

They’ll be asked about how they got to the station, how they’ll get from their destination station to their place of work or education or appointment, which type of ticket they use and some other statistical questions.

Bus users in Wellington City and suburbs, Hutt Valley, Kapiti and northern suburbs will be surveyed later this month.

“The information will give planning staff a good understanding of travel patterns, enable them to identify trends and plan for the region’s future public transport needs.”

City.Mobi

Also in New Zealand today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Wellington.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Wellington.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.