Bus trial for Waihi Beach

A Tauranga-to-Waihi Beach bus service will be trialled for three days a week from October 1, as an extension to the existing Katikati-to-Tauranga Shopper service.

Once in Tauranga, the Shopper service will no longer travel to Greerton and The Lakes, but passengers will be able to catch other Bayhopper services to complete their journey.


The trial service will begin on October 1. Photo: File.

The trial comes after requests from the community, and Regional Council say they are happy to be able to officially gauge demand.

Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor and Chair of the Public Transport Subcommittee, Lyall Thurston, says: 'We're committing to the trial until June next year.

'That should give the community the opportunity to use the service during regular week times and also during the summer period, when we suspect it may be popular with holidaymakers wanting to spend a few hours in Tauranga.

'One thing we've been told is that some Waihi Beach residents are currently driving into Katikati to catch the existing service from there, so we hope this reduces that need and makes the journey slightly easier.

'However, with all trials, it will only be as good as the feedback we receive, so we do encourage people to fill out a form, which will be available on the bus, and let us know how you find it.”

The service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and begins at Katikati. From there it will travel into Waihi Beach, back to Katikati and through to Tauranga via Omokoroa.

The Katikati Commuter and Omokoroa Commuter routes and timetables will remain unchanged.

The service replaces the existing Katikati – Omokoroa – Tauranga Shopper service.

It will extend to Waihi Beach in the west, and finish at Wharf Street in Tauranga's central business district.

The service will no longer travel to Tauranga Hospital, Greerton and The Lakes, however passengers can travel on Bayhopper routes 1, 2 and 59 to complete this portion of the journey. The Katikati and Omokoroa Commuter services still go to Tauranga Hospital.

The fare from Waihi Beach to Tauranga is $10 for adults and $6 concession. A full fare table is available from the Baybus website at: www.baybus.co.nz

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1 comment

Why

Posted on 28-09-2015 19:25 | By Capt_Kaveman

dont they try fixing the dead duck of a timetable in Tauranga 1st


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