More buses for CityRide

Rotorua Cityride today welcomed three additional buses to their service. Photo/File

Rotorua Cityride have welcomed three additional buses to their service.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council public transport sub-committee chairman Lyall Thurston said the three buses were identified as the ideal improvement solution to help meet scheduled service times.

"We have worked hard with Rotorua Lakes Council, Focus Group Users, the bus operator Reesby Buses Ltd and the NZ Transport Agency to identify changes that will have the least effect on bus users, but will achieve a reliable service," he said.

Reesby Buses Limited supervisor Duncan Wiggins said bus drivers were pleased more buses would be added to help meet bus timetables.

"They are excited as they know this will improve recovery time between trips so they have sufficient time to complete a route run, before the next scheduled trip."

Mr Wiggins said bus users would start to see improvements straight away.

"We hope more people will take the opportunity to try our improved Cityride services."

Some minor changes will also occur to route 1 Ngongotaha and route 10 Airport which would provide additional improvements on these two routes.

Route 1 Ngongotaha will service Western Road hourly - every second trip; instead of every trip. Route 10 airport will travel to the airport hourly - every second trip, with the bus turning right from Lee Road onto State Highway 30 Te Ngae Road and back into the city.

Saturday services will be unaffected and continue to operate half hourly.

Mr Thurston said the extra buses would be funded from the current budget and from making minor changes to services and were supported by the majority of bus users surveyed recently.

"To ensure improvements to the service occur now, we are using a temporary fleet of buses until our permanent buses arrives from the UK, which will be here by summer.
We are continuously looking at ways to improve our public transport system to reflect changes in demand and need, and to reduce the number of private motor vehicles on our roads."

Mr Thurston said Regional Council's public service funding extended to people within the community where taking the bus was not a viable option.

"We also fund other services to cater for the needs of the entire community such as Total Mobility Scheme, a subsidised taxi service for those who have an impairment that prevents them from using our buses."

"Our aim is to ensure that Rotorua enjoys the best possible public transport service and we are working collaboratively alongside Rotorua Lakes Council to improve the customer experience."

If people would like to comment on bus shelters or location of bus stops they should be directed to the Rotorua Lakes Council.

To find out more about the minor changes to the Cityride bus service go to www.baybus.co.nz or call 0800 4 BAYBUS (0800 4 229 287).