The popular Cathedral Cove park and ride shuttle will be operating again over the busy 2015/16 summer holiday season.

Waikato Regional and Thames-Coromandel District councils have teamed up with the Mercury Bay Community Board to provide the park and ride service over December and January, and Waitangi Day long weekend.

A popular park and ride shuttle is returning to Cathedral Cove this summer. Photo: File

Regional council public transport operations manager Andrew Wilson says this shuttle helps relieve traffic congestion in one of the region's favourite holiday destinations.

'As well as improving the safety for pedestrians and other road users,” he says. 'The shuttle is extremely popular. Last summer we carried more than 30,000 people up the hill from Hahei to the start of the Cathedral Cove walking track – that's 10,000 more than the previous year,” he said.

The service starts on Sunday, December 27, and runs every day until Monday, February 1. It will also operate over Waitangi Day long weekend on February 6-8, 2016.

The shuttle will operate from 10am to 6pm daily, departing every 20 minutes from the purpose-built car park on Hahei Beach Road.

This year parking attendants will be working in the Hahei Beach Road car park, as well as at the top of the hill to help motorists with parking and boarding the shuttles.

Mercury Bay Community Board chairperson Paul Kelly says they are pleased to be working with the regional council to provide the shuttle this year.

'We realise we need to look at how we manage the growing number of visitors within this area and that traffic and parking need managing.”

TCDC Mercury Bay area manager Alan Tiplady is urging visitors to consider the safety of other road users and locals living on Grange Road and neighbouring streets to use the Hahei Beach Road car park.

'Parking up the hill creates dangerous obstacles and blocks access to residential properties,” says Alan.

Return park and ride shuttle fares are: $5 for adults, $3 for children up to 15 years, and $10 families (two adults and two children).

For more information on the services, including detailed timetables, visit www.busit.co.nz or call 0800 4 BUSLINE (0800 4 2875463).