Rotorua - Mamaku bus service rolls into town after long campaign

Mamaku resident Janine Dorman said the budget for the bus was "great" to see. Photo / Stephen Parker

The last time Mamaku had public transport was the 1980s.

But next Tuesday will see the first bus roll up in decades.

It has been 18 months since locals submitted on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's 2018-2028 Long-term Plan, calling for public transport to and from the rural village.

On the weekend the council announced a trial service would start running weekly on Tuesdays, leaving Mamaku at 9am and returning from the i-Site at 2pm.

The Mamaku Village Connector, Route 20, will stop at the Mamaku Grocery Store and Mamaku School, then go to Ngongotahā, Kauae Cemetery, Rotorua Hospital, Rotorua Central Mall and the i-Site.

The announcement of the service comes after a Bay of Plenty Regional Council report into public transport for the 2018/19 financial year showing patronage on Rotorua CityRide buses dropped 12.9 per cent in the last year and revenue was down $17,066 or 22.2 per cent.

The cost of operating bus services across the region had increased by 3.9 per cent in the last 12 months according to the NZ Transport Agency cost escalation index.

Mamaku Residents and Ratepayers' Group chairwoman Wendy Roe welcomed the news "at last".

Mamaku Residents and Ratepayers' Group chairwoman Wendy Roe. Photo / File

"We have a growing community and an ageing community and we don't want people to have to move into town if, say, they lose their ability to drive."

Rotorua Lakes Council Rural Community Board chairwoman Shirley Trumper said the bus would make "a huge difference financially" for some residents.

"Some people in Mamaku find it hard to afford a car warrant and registration so this will give them another option to get into town."

Rural community board chairwoman Shirley Trumper. Photo / File

She said the service would also make Mamaku feel part of the district.

"They pay rates for buses and they haven't been getting anything out of that."

From left, Wendy Roe, Janine Dorman and Shirley Trumper in Mamaku. Photo / File

Mamaku resident Janine Dorman said the budget for the bus was "great" to see.

"It is a trial service though, so residents really need to use it to hold on to it."

The regional council has been liaising with the Lakes District Health Board to try to align Mamaku outpatients' appointments with the bus service.

Cityride bus service in Rotorua. Photo / File

The DHB said the window of opportunity for appointments was quite short, but it was a start.

It said if the trial was successful, it would be good for some patients attending specialty appointments or others wanting to visit people in hospital.

In a written statement on Saturday, the regional council's general manager of strategy and science, Namouta Poutasi, said Mamaku had "undergone a resurgence".

"The service will provide for a rural community that was isolated by its distance from town."