Muy Chhour: Karangahape Road business owner voices disapproval with AT's new 'bus to the mall' campaign

Auckland Transport has been forced to scale back its 'bus to the mall' campaign after facing pushback from local business owners.

The campaign included a singing bus stop in Newmarket - but more controversially, billsticker posters placed throughout Auckland’s small retail villages.

Karangahape Road business owner Muy Chhour says this campaign is a 'kick in the guts' to local business owners in Auckland.

"It's not good at all - it tarnishes the relationships with business districts and Auckland Transport. It takes away the customers from local businesses and takes them to the mall."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Organ Transport has been forced to take down ads that
encourage people to bust to the mall after pushback from
small businesses. The posters were put up throughout Auckland's small
retail villages saying jingle bus, Jingle bus, jingle to the mall.
Excuse me, this is terrible, but it continues. Oh what
fun it is to ride with no parking queues at all.

(00:20):
Mois Shore is with us. She's the k Road business
owner and chairperson of the Care Road Business Association. Good afternoon,
good afternoon. What's wrong with that jingle? It sounds like inspired.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Inspired if you work at the malls or you are
the malls. But it's a bit of a kick in
the guards if you're a local business owner and the
local business precincts. So yeah, it's not good at all.
It Tana shares the relationships with business districts and Auckland Transport,
so it takes away the customers from local businesses and

(00:56):
takes them to the mall where you know, the malls
make huge amounts of money and and it appears that
Auckland Transport almost have bent on making sure that the
malls make even more money. So it's really really unfortunate
that they've put all those posts all around Auckland, especially

(01:16):
in our local precincts like Kingsland.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Right right in your face.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
They put them right in our face, in our face.
It's not good at all. It's a bit of a
kick in the gap.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Do you worry though, because this is essentially what they want,
isn't it. You know Auckland transport, and you know they've
been sort of emasculated just recently, but this is what
councils want. They want us to be getting public transport
to one big area to shop, rather than you know,
all driving our cars to go to lots of different
places like k Road.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
No. No, I mean, if you've got public transport, you
can get out public transport to your local shops. You know,
we've got some plastic local businesses. They're offered great Christmas
you know, So I would actually push back on that.
You know, yes, they are trying to, I agree, get
us out of our cars. But if they trying to

(02:10):
get us out of our cars and to buses or
trains or whatnot, then they can clearly advertise to go
to your local shops to get your Christmas gifts or
ye cues there, so you know, their strategy, their way
of thinking is not quite right. And I think it
doesn't help when they clearly advertise to go to them all.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, it doesn't help you guys. I can see exactly
where you're coming from.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Moy.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Do they get some brownie points for taking the post?
I understand they've partially covered up some of them and
they are taking the rest of them down. Do they
Do they get some brownie points from you for that? No?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Nice, not at all, not at all. The damage has
been done the post is you know, think people have
seen them that they're not small, they're huge. You know,
the damage has been done. Really, Auckland Transport need to
give some good faith back to local businesses and maybe
perhaps put free busses to the local shopping centers or

(03:13):
maybe double the advertising to go to your local shopping centers,
you know, and support your local businesses. So I don't
think just covering them up is a sign of any
good faith. It's like, oh, we've really screwed up here
and let's try and recked via Mas stakes by covering

(03:33):
it up. That's not really any browning points. The damage
has been done, all right.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Well, it sounds like there is no redemption from you.
I appreciate you took your time, Merry Christmas, and I
hope that you pick up some business off the back
of this interview. Moyture with us. She is the K
Road business owner and chairperson of the CA Road Business Association.
In Auckland. The council there basically putting up posters saying
go to the mall, and you can understand why she
wouldn't like that. For more from Heather Dooplasye Allen Drive,

(04:01):
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