The Loco Loco Madness Continues . . . . .
I see that Gold Card holders have been getting free travel on the Loco Loco . It has been 'estimated' that this is 24% of the people using this train . I don't know whether that has been measured , or just estimated . They ( Government and councils -- also known as us ) have been throwing around $18 million a year at this ( it is suppoosedly going to reduce to $12 million ) , and no-one has accurately measured this ?
BUT also , is this Grandad and Grandma going on a day trip once a year to the big smoke , or is it someone over 65 , still working , getting their pay each week , plus getting a pension , plus getting free travel ?
It has also been 'estimated' that 30% of the users are from Auckland .
So Waikato councils are paying literally $millions a year each , to subsidise people going to work in Auckland ? And also paying for Aucklanders to travel at subsidised rates to Hamilton ( mainly ) but possibly the greater Waikato .
And last year it was decided that it wasn't losing enough money , so they have put on extra trains on Thursdays and Fridays , so it can lose even more money .
And now , you cannot make upo this madness -- it is proposed by the councils involved that Gold Card holders won't get free travel any more , UNLESS they travel on these 'extra' Thursday and Friday trains .
Presumably , these 'extra' trains aren't getting many people , so they will make the figures look better by saying 'Oh , we have had a 200% increase in patronage on these trains' or some other dishonest reinterpretation of the figures .
And you know what happens on the other days ? Well , obviously there will be less people ( about 24% if their estimates are correct ) or maybe a slight increase in paying passengers , as Thursdays and Fridays may not suit some Gold Card holders . Fair enough . Except these incredibly intelligent councillors don't seem to have realised -- it costs the same to run a train whether you have 60 people or 80 people on it .
As a matter of principle ( every return trip is being subsidised by between $400-500 per passenger per day ) I will not go on this train , but my basic understanding is it is almost never fully patronised ( except maybe some Saturdays -- that is ironic as it was originally 'sold' as being for 'workers' to get to work in Auckland , now it seems it is more to take shoppers away from local shops , and/or to take families on a day out to Auckland .
If it was cost neutral it wouldn't be so bad , but it is only recovering around 8% of what it actually costs , to me it make absolutely no sense on any level .
There are already several buses a day ( which are cost neutral -- in fact , they have to cover costs or they won't be there in a year ) and this train ( which not only costs heaps , it is taking passengers from the privately owned bus companies , and as far as I can work out , is about 8 to 10 times worse for the enviroment per trip than a bus is . So why do some councillors keep on with this idiotic train set ?
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Rescued teen tells of fall down ‘two-storey’ waterfall
A Hamilton teenager who spent nearly 40 hours in the bush with broken bones after falling off an “almost two-storey waterfall” has expressed gratitude for all the efforts to find her.
Maia Johnston, 19, who left her mother’s home in Tōtara Park, Upper Hutt on Saturday evening, said she got lost in Akatarawa Forest – described as “a rugged blend of native and exotic forest”, including steep valleys and river gorges, by the Wellington Regional Council.
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