Free bus travel across the city for World Car Free Day

Bayhopper bus in Tauranga. Photo / File

Free bus travel will be on offer around the region as the Bay of Plenty Regional Council celebrates World Car Free Day.

Tauranga will join more than 2000 cities around the world to celebrate World Car Free Day on Sunday, September 22, with Bayhopper travel free for the day.

Between 10am and 3pm, a section of First Avenue will be transformed into an urban public space for the day to host a free community event organised by Tauranga City Council.

People will also get the chance to learn how to load a bike on to the front of the bus with a bus parked at the First Ave community event.

According to the regional council, recent figures suggested some bus users were ditching their cars altogether.

The numbers of bike racks being used on Bayhopper buses continue to rise and more than 500 bikes were carried on Bayhopper buses last month alone.

Bike racks on Bayhopper buses were installed at the end of last year.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council general manager of strategy and science Namouta Poutasi said the busiest stops at Bayfair and the Tauranga CBD were proving to be the most popular places for the bike racks to be used.

"Since the recording of bike rack usage started they have been used 1327 times from June 10 to August 31," Poutasi said.