New bus route for Lower Hutt’s western suburbs

Access to the Hutt Valley and Melling rail lines and the Lower Hutt CBD for Tirohanga and Harbour View residents will be improved following the introduction of a new Metlink bus route from Monday 9 October. 

Bus route 149 will service Harbour View and Tirohanga, connecting residents with Hutt Central and Melling Station as well as Waterloo Station during peak times.   

Greater Wellington Transport Chair Thomas Nash says the new route, which runs on weekdays between 7am and 6.25pm, is designed to connect Tirohanga and Harbour View with the wider public transport network. 

“With two rail lines and eighteen bus routes, the Hutt Valley contains a crucial network spine with arteries that now connect the western hills to other bus and train services,” Cr Nash says.  

“This new route offers a fully multi modal journey, from home to work in Wellington city, as well as a climate friendly transport choice for shopping and errands in the Lower Hutt CBD.”  

Route 149’s introduction comes after calls from the community for a dedicated bus route and was signalled in Metlink’s Bus Network Review(external link) (BNR), which identified areas within the Hutt Valley where Metlink could improve service. Resident feedback was also sought in March(external link) on the placement of route 149 stops in the western hills. 

Delivering on another request from the community, access for students at Tirohanga’s Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School was also factored into the route’s final design and timetable.  

Regional councillor David Bassett praised the community for advocating for the new route. 

“Route 149 is a great example of public transport design for people by people, and with our driver workforce now stable, we’ve been able to introduce the route sooner than planned,” Cr Bassett says. 

“I am buoyed by the progress being made on public transport in the Hutt Valley, particularly for those on the western hills, who now have the whole region’s network at their doorsteps.”  

Passengers are reminded that the 149’s stop at Melling Station will be temporarily removed from mid-2024, when the station closes for 18 months to make way for the construction of both a new station for the Melling Line and the vital infrastructure for Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi delivering RiverLink. The stop will be re-added when the new station re-opens. 

149 Online Timetable(external link)

149 Timetable PDF(external link)