Kia Ora and Welcome 
For the buses, October, under Level 2  was quieter than last year with  1 repatriation trip to Auckland. The month included Labour Weekend and school holidays when we transported children and  organisers from Greenmeadows OSCAR, KFC and  Porritt Care School Holiday Programmes to  Bayskate, Faraday Centre, Ocean Spa, Marine Parade, Paintball, Superstrike, Haumoana zoo, Clive pools and Cornwall Park. Our school transport to EIT finished this month and 1 of our vans took a NGHS girl way out to Waihau Road for farming experience every Friday. 
Our mobility service was also quieter than normal, but we took clients to medical appointments, Hastings Hospital, churches, home visits from rest homes, shopping, school, Enliven, exercise classes, Rotary, cafes, covid jabs, Mitre 10, Kmart, EIT and the Taradale library. 
At the time of writing NZ moves into the Covid Traffic Light System in one week. Our drivers are all double vaccinated and are getting their Vaccine Passes. However, this is proving to be difficult in some cases ( separate emails required per person in the household usually the problem ). Will work through this and any other issues with our bus clients as well. 
As for our mobility clients : we know them all and know their vaccination status which is 100% first jab and will hit 100% double jab in 2 weeks. High Fives all round 😊. For new clients the purple covid card will suffice if they have not yet received their Vaccine Pass. ​

This month we are featuring Rowan House, a residential home for under 65 year olds with a physical disability. 
We have provided transport for some of Rowan’s residents for years taking them out for meals, to the EIT , various churches, medical appointments, the hospital, cafes and restaurants, into Napier for shopping, wineries, rugby , theatres ….in fact all the places the able bodied like to go. 

Rowan, an arm of Presbyterian Support Services, is alongside Atawhai in Gloucester Street, with Mosaic next door, EIT just up the road and Taradale CBD less than 1k away. It fosters adult choice, responsibility, and independence in a flat type situation. Residents have aspirational and short term goals supported by 24 hour skilled staff, visiting special specialists and a  Strategic Development Group. This group includes residents, family/ whanau and senior managers who plan the services. ​

One of the residents is Cheryl who has lived at Rowan for 8 years, here is her story. 
I have Multiple Sclerosis. Before I had my first child, I was pretty sure I had MS and got a firm diagnosis when he was a toddler. I then had a daughter and life stayed as normal as possible as the MS took a slow progression. I was involved with my children’s’ activities through preschool and beyond with my mobility starting to lessen requiring a stick to keep steady. Life took its twists and turns and eventually needing more assistance, I moved from my flat in Napier to Rowan. 
Although I am now in a wheelchair I get out and about in my electric chair and Rowan’s van. I also use Pink Total Transport. They have taken me to many places over the years, once even to Taupo for a week. They take me to church on Sundays and to a women’s group there on Wednesdays. Every week or so they take me into Napier to browse around the shops, have lunch and catch up with a friend. Recently they have taken me to Crab Farm and Off The Track for lunch, and dinner at The Filter Room. I also volunteer at Family Works on Tuesdays. I have kept up my love of gardening with a garden outside my room and generally poking around Rowan’s grounds and enjoy arts and crafts. It was a very sad day when Aaron’s in Napier closed. Having Taradale so close means I can wander down in my chair and browse around the shops ( op shops a must ) have coffee and eat at my favourite place, Thai Lotus.  
The photo shows me at my church ( NCF in Meeanee Road ) ​

And here is Eamon with carer Andrew, a more recent arrival at Rowan. He’s off to the pools at Napier Health Centre. We also take him to music at St Columba’s and are waiting for Shake Rattle and Roll to start again at the Baptist Church in Riverbend Road. ​

And to finish, last month we featured our client Diane Walsh and her Cosy Kids charity. The Cerebral Palsy Society saw the article and asked permission to pass it on to their members. It’s a bit soon to know where this will lead, but it gave us and Diane such a thrill to get such positive feedback.  
We were going to pop more information about Cosy Kids in this month’s blog but once again have run out of room.  
Best wishes to everyone as Christmas approaches and we move into the Traffic Light System.

​  
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding our policy on Vaccine Passes on 06 8355300 and [email protected] 
  

Kia Ora, hello again and welcome to looking back at September, introducing 2 of our lovely drivers, another wonderful mobility client and room to feature one of our buses.
Well, September started at Level 3, eased down to Level 2 on the 8th and has sat there ever since.
Bus work is minimal, mobility less so. It’s a very muddly place to be as ( for example ) one of our mobility clients who used to go swimming twice a week. The pool re opened but NOT the changing room which she needs, so no swimming for her.
So, on her behalf, all Pink Total double jabbed drivers say GET JABBED !!

​Tour Operators, John and Yvonne Banks have semiretired after a busy sixteen years in the Tour industry. In that time, they have seen a small industry flourish from small beginnings to flat out. It all stopped abruptly with the Ruby Princess arrival at the Napier Port setting the benchmark for the new era Covid 19. Yvonne operated the Art Deco Bus Tour of Napier for many years having started the business and working in conjunction with the Art Deco Trust. The business was sold along with vehicles to new owners. This freed up Yvonne’s time to carry on with the wine tours. John came into the business after a teaching career and helped with the workload and bookings. Now days the business waits until the borders open and a different lifestyle may start again and certainly at a different pace. With their position in the industry, they have been in the position to assist and help with Pink Total’s busy business. They both enjoy the chance to meet people associated with travelling to destinations whether locally or out of town.

​My name is Diane Walsh and I live in Taradale. Like many people with a disability I use a variety of transport to get around and maintain my independence. As an amputee, I was looking for a friendly, reliable transport service, to add to my travel resources, and Pink Total Transport was recommended to me by their longterm customer Margaret. As soon as I met Janet on my first trip, I realised that the easy access to the van with my wheelchair would be a great asset for getting to places around the Bay that were too far for my electric wheelchair. Since then I’ve got to know all the staff and whatever my destination it’s like sharing the journey with a friend. I think the most exciting outing so far happened last year when Marise drove my whole family to Mangapapa for my 70th birthday celebration and then became our capable sober driver for the return home.
In 2011 I had a surprise stay in intensive care, when I became ill with sepsis, which resulted in the amputation of my right leg. The disability spelt the end of my career as a midwife and once I was fully recovered I started looking for something useful to do. Like all midwives I had encountered the poverty that often results in young children lacking warm clothing and bedding. Put together with factors like substandard housing (poverty again) many children end up sick and compromised in Hawke’s Bay every winter. In 2014, with this in mind, I started a “Not for Profit” organisation called Cosy Kids. Cosy Kids’ objective is to provide Hawke’s Bay babies and pre-schoolers with warm clothing and blankets to be delivered to them by midwives and nurses, social workers and other health care professionals during the cold months . Cosy Kids has a group of volunteer knitters and other crafters who turn out woollies, hats, blankets, sheets and toys for under 5 year olds. These are gifted to children throughout winter. Each baby is also supplied with sleepsuits, cotton onesies and merino singlets made from merino fabric donated by a NZ sportswear manufacturer. All of our knitted garments are made from wool or merino, which is either donated or purchased with donated funds. The family receives a bag of new and sometimes immaculate preloved items for the baby/children, delivered by the health worker who approached Cosy Kids for help. I put the packs together appropriate to the individual needs of the family, I don’t require any information other than the age and gender of the child (no names). Over the years Cosy Kids has helped hundreds of children in all areas of Hawke’s Bay and further afield when we have accumulated supplies in excess of our needs.
Pink Total Transport has been an amazing resource in the running of Cosy Kids, taking me on shopping excursions to access the babywear sales around town and getting to places where I have been asked to speak to a group about Cosy Kids.
Anyone who would like to contact me for more information is welcome to phone or text 021434833 or email [email protected]
 
Diane has much more information which we will feature next month 😊
In the meantime, ring, text or email her as winter will come again before we know it !

Kia ora, hello and welcome to Pink Total Transport’s 4th monthly blog. Mixing it up this month as August was not the best !!  Everything humming along nicely then BAM into Alert Level 4 on the 18th. Bus wise everything came to a screaming halt, cancellations or postponements poured in. On the mobility side medical and emergency appointments only, including transport for Covid jabs.
To all  businesses out there, clients and suppliers, commiserations to you all. Special shout out to our mobility clients. It is no fun being locked up day after day and it doesn’t get much better in Level 2.
Anyhoo, onwards and upwards, summer is coming 😊

​This bus trip actually happened mid-September so technically should be in next month’s blog, but as the content is all about travelling in and out of Auckland under Level 4 conditions, it is more appropriate and interesting to include here.
What happened is this : Bruce was asked by T&G Global to collect 30 RSE workers who had been in the Auckland and Northland areas for many months and bring them to HB for work. They had all  gone through the required vaccinations, isolation and Covid testing, the pickup point was over the border in Bombay.
 The conditions for travel to Auckland under Level 4 are stringent and T&G Global were bang on the ball. The driver had to have proof of a Covid test within 7 days, so Bruce shot off for that. A barrier had to separate the driver and passengers, so Classique Plastics erected that immediately, and there were pages and pages of information regarding travel plans and bus signage which T&G Global dealt with. ​

Auckland motorway 11am, spooky. The RSEs  boarded at Bombay and off they went to the official Police Check Point at Mercer where the bus was ushered to a sidebay and police boarded the bus. Every passenger and the driver had to show proof of a recent Covid test and names were checked off the list supplied by T&G.
No problems arose so off to Taupo for the only comfort stop allowed then to the T&G Irongate accommodation complex and straight back into isolation.
With August only being half a month ( 1st to 17th ), we are including 2 of our drivers this month. Firstly, may we introduce Trevor, who says Hi, I’m married to Carol, we have two sons, 8 grandkids and 2 great grands. No 3 on the way to keep us up to speed.
Trained as a truck and tractor mechanic with the International Harvester Dealers for 31/2 years, went to Bailie Motors Hastings (Truck Dept) straightening truck chassis for 2 years then moved to International Dealers Gisborne for 7 months to Field Service Grain and Seed Harvesters. Returned to Bailies for 12 months, changed again and joined a general carrier, Tollison Transport to drive and maintain ground spreads, haystock and log trucks for 21/2 years. New challenge. Joined Rothmans Tobacco Company (later British American Tobacco Co ) for a planned 12 months- forgot to leave and stayed for 35 years. Worked as a production fitter in all departments for 20 years then moved into production manager role until factory closed in 2006 and was retired early.
Home maintenance for 2 years, then joined Mackersey Construction Co to work as a gate keeper  ( for tradies ) to a secure area at HB Prison for 9 months.
Later acquired my P license and drove for Nimons, the joined Intercity buses for 5 years.
Retired. Then started with Pink Total Transport ( to do a wee job ) then a little servicing and driving.
While all this was going on family and hobbies involved small bore target shooting, travelling all over the North Island for competitions. Just to keep things interesting from 1965 to 1990 I built and raced A grade stock cars all over the country as well. Also did 8 years as Meeanee Track Steward for the New Zealand Speedway Federation.
All in all have always been entertained- never bored.

​Started farming in 1978, at Te Pohue, until 1987, and then came to town. I then started driving and learning truck driving, carting apples to the then APB, then to Shipside (break-bulk – oh how those days have gone!!) I then moved to RFL as a full time casual driver, until injury forced me to take some time off. I filled the time doing a 3-year degree in Computing at EIT, then back driving, as I could not get a job in the computing industry! I drove for Halls, going to Auckland overnight and return for 3 years – no life at all; days became nights, nights were days, and I didn’t know my A from my elbow!!, I tore my rotator cuff tendon, at which point I decided I wasn’t going to make sixty doing this sort of work. Therefore, after a layoff for 14 months I got a job at EIT in the IT Dept., until I retired.
After retirement, my old boss Mark Scofield (RFL) asked me to drive one of Art Deco Buses, doing cruise ship runs, until the Ruby Princess came to Napier, and all that entailed! Covid saw me washing Bruce’s buses for something to do, away from people, and away from Covid and all its restrictions. Bruce lost a couple of drivers, which saw me filling the gaps, until now when I seem to be a permanent part of the scenery. This keeps me busy, along with occasionally driving an Art Deco bus.
I now have more than enough work for a retiree, but with a great team, and such nice people.

​And the phew !! of the month is the dinky new roundabout by the Napier RSA on the intersection of Hastings and Vautier Streets. What a wee cutey and doing such a good job 😊

And the phew !! of the month is the dinky new roundabout by the Napier RSA on the intersection of Hastings and Vautier Streets. What a wee cutey and doing such a good job 😊

​Hello and welcome to Pink Total’s 3rd monthly blog. Looking back at July and continuing to introduce you to our drivers and vehicles.

​The following week we had the pleasure of transporting this dance crew to Toitoi Hastings to participate in Showquest which boasts to be Aotearoa's biggest performing arts competition. Last year due to Covid the competition was moved online, so this year it was wonderful for them to be able to get back on stage and perform live. They came away with a swag of awards including 3rd place in their region.

"Well done Napier Girls' High! “

​And starting in April …..
We began transporting workers to 2 packhouses for MSD. One in Flaxmere, the other in Whakatu. We have had an excellent relationship with Ezra and the workers themselves. The numbers have fluctuated and declined but 2 stood out, Dwayne and Mavis who every morning were ready and waiting for their transport. Rain, hail and freezing (never shine at 5.20am !!)

We have thoroughly enjoyed these 4 months (still going in July) and look forward to strengthening our relationship with Ezra and MSD in the future.

This month our featured mobility/bus driver is Sue

​Hi, my name is Sue Hobbs and I'm probably the longest serving driver for Pink Total as I started when the business was owned by Robin Fryer.  He wanted a break from doing the shuttle van for the RSA on Friday nights and said to me "when you get your P licence, I'll give you some work.”  Hence, I did get my "P" Licence and took over doing the RSA courtesy shuttle and some mobility work.  When the current owners, Janet and Bruce Raitt purchased the business I thought that it might have been the end of my shuttle driving career but no... I have since gone on and gained my Class 2 (heavy traffic) licence which has enabled me to drive some of Bruce’s bigger buses and the smallest, a 20 seater coaster which I enjoy.  Over the years I have had trips to Auckland and Wellington airports, taking orchard workers back.  Also taking Senior students from Flaxmere and Karamu High Schools to the Trades Academy program run by the EIT. Lastly mobility work taking clients to different destinations.  I enjoy the many varied facets of Pink Total Transport and have met many interesting people. 
 
And amongst those interesting people were participants in the July 2021 Ladies Charted Club National Tournament, held at the Taradale Club. Participants came from Auckland to Invercargill and were housed at 8 different venues around Napier, arriving at different times on different days. Pink Total provided all the bus transport. The logistics over 6 days were huge, but everything went very smoothly, and everyone was collected from the airport, transferred from accommodations to the club and back, and back to the airport with no hassles at all. A very successful week indeed!!
During the school holidays we transported children via bus for 5 School Holiday programmes to a myriad of venues including the aquarium, Onekawa Pools, movies in Napier and Hastings, Marine Parade, Flipout, Cornwall Park …..
And in amongst all this EIT, club rugby and other trips etc carried on as normal 😊

Hello and welcome to Pink Total’s second monthly blog. Our first blog received many compliments, some questions and a suggestion. Have briefly answered a question on the next page, but as we do not want our blog to go over two pages do not have room to feature a petrol heads suggestion to feature a vehicle each month. Will do so when we have room. 😊
So, looking back at June:

ON THE BUS SIDE
Another great month, pretty much the same as April’s with packhouses, local and away school and club rugby, ( one Saturday we had St John’s College in Whanganui, Napier Tech Old Boys in Dannevirke and Napier Old Boys Marist Premiers in CHB ) school netball and hockey games, RSE workers to Auckland to catch flights home, High Schools and Colleges to the EIT. We also took a High School’s class of senior history students to the Waikato for their yearly trip, several social functions to The Old Church, 10 pin bowling, Trinity Hill, The Emporium, Bluewater, a winery tour and Shed 2
ON THE MOBILITY SIDE
Busy month again with our usual trips to the hospital, Napier Health, dentists, GPs, cafes and restaurants, swimming, movies, RSAs, optician…… one client had her birthday at Crab Farm and a very gadabout lady surrounded her wheelchair in a van with her friends and took off to The Old Church, Scholars at the EIT and the Union Hotel.  NB would not recommend the Caddy for jaunts like this, it does indeed take a wheelchair in the back, 3 in the back seat and 1 in the passenger seat BUT it’s crowded for the passengers. Far better to use the Toyota with a hoist and lots of space for friends. Have had a rush of clients going for flu and covid jabs and having a look at the new K Mart.
The Pink Total’s PHEW of the month is: new roundabout layout at Taradale Town Clock, the scene of many close shaves witnessed by our drivers.  Love it!!
And here is a very very brief answer to a question
Q :  you refer to your mobility service as not a taxi I thought you were ?
A :  We are what’s called a drive for hire service. Very briefly a taxi firm operates 24 hours, usually in 8 hour shifts. Must have at least 8 vehicles.
Drive for hire is essentially a booking service with no minimum vehicle requirement and no legal requirement to be available 24 hours.
For the full story google rules for taxis nz
And a heads up for July? Very similar we expect 😊 Covid willing ☹

​Hello and welcome to Pink Total Transport’s first monthly blog.
The intention is to have the blog online on our web page in the middle of each month (tried for the 1st of the month but proved too tricky with office end of the month stuff going on) starting mid-June 2021. We will look back on the previous month, telling you where we’ve been, what we’ve done and look forward to the coming month.
Also, the Pink Total phew !! for the month
Pink Total has 2 arms, buses and mobility, so both will feature each month. We will keep you informed about our vehicles, update you on Pink Total’s rebranding and highlight 1 of our wonderful clients and driver each month. Starting this month with:

​ON THE BUS SIDE it was a great month. Early starts at packhouses had drivers up and away at 5am collecting seasonal workers for their 6am and 6.30am shifts. We also took a bus load of college students to work at a packhouse on Saturdays. Winter sports started, our buses took teams from various clubs and grades to CHB and Dannevirke on Saturdays and a school team to Fielding. We took a girls’ school team to hockey at Park Island every Monday night and a netball team to the Hastings Sports Park before most people were awake on Saturday mornings.
Our buses and vans were in and out of the EIT bringing school students from Havelock North, Hastings, Flaxmere, Hastings and Napier to the Trades Academy on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Some RSE workers were still in New Zealand and we took a small group from Vanuatu up to Auckland to join a repatriation flight home.
There was a school trip to the Stortford Lodge Sale Yards, a great group to On Yer Bike, a fun company day out to OutFoxed, pickups from the airport, Clifton Café,  and we also took a student miles out in the country for work experience every Friday.
A busy, interesting and varied 4 weeks.
ON THE MOBILITY SIDE our wee team has new bright pink T shirts. Worn with black pants the effect is standout smart casual, exactly what we were looking for.
The 2 vans and Caddy are everywhere in Napier and frequently in Havelock North and Hastings.
Our clients range from spritely independent to totally dependent. Able to leap in and out of the vehicles to needing a walker or a wheelchair. And aged from teenagers to well into their nineties.
In May we took clients to various churches, The Mission, EIT, Onekawa and Clive Pools, MENZ Shed, gym, 10 pin bowling, coffee and lunch at various cafes,  hairdressers, movies, a variety of medical appointments, shopping, Enliven, Rotary, Senior Cits, Napier RSA, outings from rest homes, Hawkes Bay Hospital, airport, opticians …..
The Pink Total PHEW !! for the month is : the Wait Zone at Napier Airport. It’s brilliant!! As we’re not a taxi we cannot use the taxi carparks and before the alterations had to hover around Arrivals and Departures or go and wait in the carpark and feed the meter.
Now we simply sit in the Wait Zone, wait for the client or carer to text they are leaving Arrivals, coast around to the carpark, collect ticket, collect client and out before the free period runs out. So easy.
And a heads up for June ……. More of the same 😊 excellent 😊