If that didn't arrive, she would wait another 15 minutes to catch the next one.
But Priddy said often both buses were cancelled at random, leaving his teenage girl waiting alone in the dark "in the middle of nowhere" past 8.30pm.
"You dread that anything could happen," he said.
Priddy said he often had to work away from home, which meant his wife had to wake up her younger children to pick up their teenage daughter.
"We must have been out there 10 times to pick her up. During the Christmas break, it was a regular occurrence."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council passenger transport programme leader Rachel Pinn said the council had apologised to the 17-year-old's parent for the service not running.
Pinn said the operator assured the council later trips would not be dropped in the future.
Passengers were promised a more reliable service with more direct routes and frequent services as part of the new network.
However, other bus users have also been left less than impressed.
Last week, elderly Judea resident Judith Cornwell said she was left waiting in the baking sun for a bus that never came.
Cornwell walked from the rest home where she lives to a nearby bus stop on Sunday with plans to do some shopping. The scheduled bus never arrived.
When she got home she emailed bus operators to complain.
She received a reply apologising and saying that some bus services had been cancelled that day "due to a high number of bus drivers calling in sick".
Cornwell said it she found the response "unbelievable".
"To leave people stranded in the 29C heat is just ridiculous."
Maungatapu resident and regular bus user Edwina Withington said she had to catch the bus 45 minutes earlier to get to work on time - and it now takes her about 20 minutes to walk to the nearest bus stop.
"I think it is shocking for us in Maungatapu. It is appalling," she said.
The 65-year-old said it had added 40 minutes a day to her journey. The new network was confusing for the elderly, she said, and she had resorted to carpooling to work with a friend.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has received more than 500 complaints regarding late buses or buses not running, driver behaviour, bus timetables, route changes and infrastructure since the new network was introduced on December 10.
Pinn said the top three complaints were regarding buses that were late or not running, buses not stopping and driver behaviour.
There have been 137 service change requests including timetable and route change complaints logged since the service started and 69 complaints about infrastructure.
"There have been a few compliments but the majority of those who have provided feedback have complained that the new service doesn't work for them," Pinn said.
Between January 1 and 22, 56.8 per cent of buses were on time, 22 per cent were early and 21.2 per cent were late. A total 162 trips had been missed.
Pinn said 215,781 people have boarded buses since the new service launched up to January 29 - 20,219 more than the same period a year earlier.
Forty-eight bus driver positions were yet to be permanently filled, and 18 drivers had been brought down from Auckland in the interim.
"We are pretty happy with how things have gone so far," Pinn said. "But clearly there is room for improvement and still time to tweak timetables where needed."
NZ Bus, which operates the new network, did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.
Teen forced to change jobs
Katia Lynch says she was forced to change jobs after the new service left her 45 minutes late for work.
The 19-year-old travelled by bus most days because she didn't have a car.
She used to catch the bus from Brookfield to Hewletts Rd in Mount Maunganui and be at work on time at 7am.
Now, she catches the 6.45am bus from Brookfield and arrives in town to catch the 7.15am transfer on the hospital link before getting to work in the Mount at 7.45am - 45 minutes late to work. That is if her bus isn't late, or if it arrives at all.
"I have had to look for a new job, which luckily I have lined up," she said.
Bus complaints
- 365 complaints
- Top three: Late bus/bus did not run, bus did not stop and driver behaviour
- 137 service change requests, including timetable complaints and route change complaints
- 69 complaints about infrastructure
Source: Bay of Plenty Regional Council
