12 Jul 2025

Tauranga council extends on-demand public transport trial

8:25 am on 12 July 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council Director of Public Transport Oliver Haycock

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Director of Public Transport Oliver Haycock. Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod/RNZ

Tauranga's on-demand public transport trial is being extended, with the regional council saying it needs more information before making a final decision.

Tauranga South, where the on-demand bus operates, had historically been hard to service with public transport, so in March 2024 a trial service started with people ordering up their public transport through an app.

There were no pre-timetabled routes or set stops on the service.

The on-demand trial was meant to end in September but has been extended until April next year.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council director of public transport Oliver Haycock said the extension gave the council more time to assess the service.

"When our 12 month review showed our passenger numbers were still increasing, along with the popularity of the trial, our councillors were really keen to understand a bit more about it. In addition, we were really interested to understand how we could improve the financial efficiency of the trial," he said.

A review of the trial's first year noted an average of 790 passengers per week used the service, many more than the approximately 115 people a week which once used the old, fixed bus route in Tauranga South.

The on-demand service costs significantly more per passenger than a traditional bus service, but because the old buses were hardly used, on-demand was still more efficient than the Route 51 buses.

However, a report to the regional council noted that although an improvement on the former Route 51, the fare recovery ratio for on-demand was lower than the Bay of Plenty regional average.

This meant that while across the region the fare subsidy was $7.52, for the on-demand service it was $20.59 (still cheaper than the Route 51 subsidy which was $28.72).

To address that, the fares for the on-demand service increased at the end of April 2025 and Haycock said it was still too early to know exactly how that would affect the service.

"The early indications are that there hasn't been any significant changes in the number of riders using the service," he said.

It is now expected that regional councillors will make a decision in April next year as to whether or not the service becomes permanent or whether it might be useful in other parts of the region.

"What they're really keen to understand is that balance between community outcomes and financial sustainability, so that trial extension will provide some further clarity on what role on-demand transport might play in the Bay of Plenty," Haycock said.

The council said customer feedback on the service was positive, with users praising the convenience, reliability and impact of the service.

One rider shared, "Due to a spinal injury, I've been totally dependent on friends and family to get around. Since using Baybus OnDemand, I've got my independence back. I have a new found freedom and I can't tell you how much that means to me."

Another customer commented, "Awesome service. I used it last week from Pyes Pā to the hospital and back. No parking worries, and prompt and courteous service."

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