Hundreds use Dunedin's first Christmas Day public transport for over thirty years

From: Otago Heritage Bus Society (Inc), Dunedin

Re: Volunteer-run Christmas Day shuttle bus service, St Clair-Octagon-Normanby, 25 December 2011, 8.45am-7.45pm

Support from the general public of Dunedin was palpable on Christmas Day as Otago Heritage Bus Society volunteers piloted their classic Leyland Leopard bus along Dunedin's flagship St Clair-Normanby route in the city's first Christmas Day bus service in over thirty years. Even Dunedin residents not using the service waved and cheered the bus as it passed; one motorist even made a donation.

Passengers were handed 286 tickets; a low estimate of actual numbers as many travelled twice or more on one ticket. The bus was frequently full to standing capacity as many cruise ship visitors wished to travel the entire route. The most popular destination was Baldwin St, where the timetable allowed a quick 5-minute visit to the world's steepest street in North East Valley. Several took the 1-hour option of climbing the street and waiting for the bus to come back around. Other popular destinations were the Dunedin Botanic Garden and St Clair beach.

The service used three volunteer drivers and three on-board assistants who worked as bus conductors. A further ten volunteers handled administration, marketing, vehicle maintenance and publicity leading up to the Christmas Day service.

Passengers expressed their warm appreciation and showered volunteer drivers and on-board assistants with Christmas gifts as well as their gold-coin fare donations to cover fuel, Road User Charges and the Otago Regional Council passenger transport permit application fee.

Bus 194, the last Leyland model to leave Dunedin's former city council bus depot, did 226km of revenue service. "If it had been allowed onto the highway, it would be close to Queenstown, Temuka or Bluff which is outstanding for an old bus that we were cautious about letting onto the Kilmog," Society operations manager Andrew Robinson said.

"To me, it seemed to be a game of three halves: we had the cruise ship traffic and other visitors to the city, a large number of residents who wanted to check us out just for fun, as well as locals who really did rely on us for transport. I took some very large groups away from St Clair beach in the later part of the afternoon, some still wearing their togs," Andrew said. "Some locals didn't realise we weren't the regular service and solemnly asked for a 2-zone ticket."

The Society had no idea that there were two cruise ship visits scheduled when it decided to run the service. Cruise shop passengers were an unexpected bonus, dfeputy chairman Peter Dowden said. "This guaranteed the financial viability of the venture.

"We were determined to provide a service to the public of Dunedin and showcase a piece of heritage transport equipment that would otherwise have been stripped for scrap metal," Peter said.

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