Dear Ed,
Recently three of us pensioners were left at the Featherston station with no communication nor transport to get to Martinborough. The train was behind schedule and we were assured twice that the bus would wait for us, it did not. As a result
we spent the next hour and a half on the phone ‘your call is important to us’ at the unmanned station trying to get some meaningful assistance. Eventually a generous friend took time off work and came and got us from Martinborough.
Metlink takes full responsibility, says sorry but perpetual apologies, as a lot of commuters will testify over the years, means nothing changes. Users of the service keep wearing the cost and the inconvenience.
After getting the usual response in terms of compensation ‘read our T&C’s that let us off the hook’ Adrienne Staples from GW generously followed up on my behalf. Metlink then offered ‘as a gesture of goodwill’ a $30 credit on a snapper card. I’ve declined (1) they’ve offered something which a pensioner doesn’t need and (2) how am I supposed to share that between the 4 of us who were affected.
Perhaps if someone from the offices of Metlink or Transit found themselves in this situation, the perpetual shortchange that we users get might actually change.
