Hawke’s Bay public transport: Important bus routes to be reinstated between Napier, Hastings and Clive

Popular bus routes, including the 12N and 12H services, Napier to Hastings return via EIT and Hawke’s Bay Hospital, will finally be reinstated on August 28. Photo / NZME

The return of several popular bus routes and extensions between Napier, Hastings, Havelock North and Clive is now less than a week away.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council announced some routes and extensions will be reinstated on Monday August 28, for the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle.

These include the 12N and 12H services, Napier to Hastings return via EIT and Hawke’s Bay Hospital, which will offer hourly services from 6.30am through to 5.30pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 8.00am to 6.00pm on Saturdays.

The Havelock North extension on Run 11, Napier to Havelock North returning via Clive, will again be operating and travelling in both directions, as will the Bay View leg on Run 15, Napier to Bay View, via Ahuriri and Westshore.

The good news was tinged with some bad, with driver availability issues resulting in the end of Sunday services.

The temporary Saturday Run 11 service was also discontinued as Run 12 was restarted.

Katrina Brunton, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council policy and regulation group manager, said in a statement she was pleased to bring the important routes back.

“While the recent opening of the Redclyffe Bridge at Waiohiki has been instrumental in bringing back these services, we’ve also had to work through driver availability and ensure traffic flows would allow our schedule to run on time,” Brunton said.

“We’re continuing to work on reinstating remaining services and reconnecting Hawke’s Bay to pre-cyclone levels. Our progress will continue to depend on GoBus being able to recruit and train new drivers.”

The Regional Council advised there had been some changes to the timetable and recommended bus passengers check the GoBay website before catching their buses.

The new timetable will be available at the end of the week on the GoBay website, in buses and key locations according to the Regional Council.