Experience triumphed in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council elections with former Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby and former regional councillor Andrew von Dadelszen securing seats.

Mr Crosby and Mr von Dadelszen won their bids for a spot in the Tauranga general constituency of the regional council.

Mr Crosby received the second highest number of votes (17520) while Mr Von Dadelszen received 12057 votes.

They will join re-elected Tauranga constituency councillors Paula Thompson, John Cronin and David Love.

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Mr Crosby said he was looking forward to his new role and it would be an easy transition because he knew most of his fellow councillors already.

He said the regional council had some major issues to face coming up, particularly water quality and allocation.

He said standing for regional council was a logical move for him after standing down as Tauranga mayor this year for a number of reasons.

"Regional council has a strong role in my favourite subject which is growth management as well as a strong role in transport planning - my other favourite. To stay in local government, regional council was the logical place for me to go."

His long involvement with Tauranga City Council and being familiar with the wider Bay of Plenty, after working closely with other mayors for 12 years, meant he brought experience and knowledge to the table.

"Also my style, which is collaborative. You can't achieve much on your own but you can achieve a lot with others."

To celebrate he would be having a quiet night and a bottle of bubbles with his partner Debra.

Mr Von Dadelszen also brings plenty of experience - he was a regional councillor between 2004 and 2010.

He said he was relieved to be back on board.

Public transport was going to be a major target of his. With the number of users declining he said something was not working properly.

"It needs an electronic mechanism so we know when a bus is definitely coming and we can rely on it. People won't take the bus to work because they can't rely on it getting there when they need it to," Mr von Dadelszen said.

He said it would have to be a team effort on council.

"You can have all the dreams in the world but you have to work with others and build a majority. I'm a strong believer in a science-based approach to decision-making - not emotion."