Hawke’s Bay Go Bus reinstates cancelled public services

Public bus services which have not operated in the region for over a year will be reinstated at the start of next week.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council confirmed in a statement that it will reinstate services on January 29, which had not run due to driver shortages and operational constraints since November 2022.

It will mean an additional 341 runs every week across the region’s network.

Katrina Brunton, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council policy and regulation group manager, credited recent driver wage uplift agreements and the fact more drivers had been secured to operate the network.

“HBRC and Go Bus have been working hard to reconnect communities before the start of the school term and with recent driver wage uplift agreements and the securing of more drivers to operate the network, we can now return to service levels previously enjoyed by the region,” Brunton said.

“We want to thank the community for their patience while we worked through the challenges associated with reinstating service levels.”

The returning services include:

• Route 10, a commuter express route which runs between Hastings and Napier and includes a stop at Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
• Route 12 will return to 20-minute frequencies during peak times.
• Sunday services will return for Route 12, 20 (the Hastings and Flaxmere loop) and 21 (the Hastings and Havelock North loop).

Hawke’s Bay’s public bus services have been plagued with driver shortages and illnesses over the past few years, resulting in continuous disruption.

The shortage of bus drivers in Hawke’s Bay is part of an ongoing nationwide crisis in the sector.

Cyclone Gabrielle also resulted in the disruption of many popular extensions and bus routes for months.