Friday 14 December 2018

Bayhopper usage increased last week following the introduction of the new Tauranga and Western Bay bus network.

Figures released by Bay of Plenty Regional Council show that bus patronage from Monday December 10 to Wednesday December 12 saw 17,055 people travel on the bus compared to 16,985 for the same days to the previous week.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Public Transport Committee Chairman Lyall Thurston is grateful to passengers for their patience and feedback following the network roll-out.

“At the beginning of the week the network experienced some operational and technical glitches but this was largely remedied by Friday. (subs Dec 14)

“We had a problem with the Hospital Link that we fixed and our free on-board Wi-Fi and Transit App experienced teething problems,” Cr Thurston said.

“There were a couple of major traffic delays on Monday morning and that is something out of our control.”

“It is pleasing to see bus users remaining loyal to the service during this transition. We know it hasn’t been totally smooth sailing, but a lot of the issues have been ironed out.”

Cr Thurston said staff are reviewing feedback and if changes are required to the network they will be completed by the end of March 2019.

ENDS

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