Bus complaint

Here’s the complaint I’ve sent to the Commerce Commission:

Dear sir or madam:

I would like to ask you to investigate GO Wellington and its owner Infratil for violation of the Fair Trading Act.

The specific violation I witnessed was the following:

• On 7 August 2012, I arrived at Lambton Quay, North End, Stop F at 4.15 pm.
• At 4.17 pm, a No. 3 bus did not arrive, although it was advertised.
• At 4.22 pm, a No. 3 bus did not arrive, although it was advertised.
• At 4.26 pm, a No. 3 bus did finally arrive, as advertised.

This is not an isolated event. Many times, I have observed that a No. 3 bus has not arrived as advertised. Sometimes, I have observed a bus not allowing passengers to board, presumably because the buses were too full.

I contend that a bus stop represents an offer to provide services, and a timetable posted on the bus stop represents further details of the services offered. GO Wellington has represented that it would offer a No. 3 bus from Lambton Quay to Karori at the specified times, and then neglected to provide the services when potential customers arrived to purchase the services. I believe these actions constitute failure to provide advertised services and misrepresentation of the services on offer. They are therefore a violation of the Fair Trading Act.

I ask that you investigate these actions; that you determine how widespread the violations are; and that you provide remedies for the affected citizens of Wellington.

Kind regards,

Yes, I am aware that this makes me sound like a crazy old man ranting incoherently on the corner. I’m also really annoyed with the random bus generator that seems to be the basis for the Wellington system.