Timaru’s MyWay by Metro on-demand public transport service has been made permanent.

The service was first introduced in June 2020 and now forms part of Canterbury Regional Council’s (Environment Canterbury) continuous programme for public transport in Timaru.

“After a successful trial, we’re proud to make MyWay a permanent service for the Timaru community, and I want to acknowledge the Timaru community, our partners and both councillors and staff who worked hard to make this possible,” Chair Craig Pauling said.

Environment Canterbury has appointed incumbent trial operator Ritchies until 2032, after a successful tender to provide public transport services in Timaru. Councils are required to periodically test the market for public transport services, to ensure they deliver the best possible service at the best value for ratepayers.

Chair Pauling said that in addition to MyWay becoming permanent, the Council was proud to be able to increase capacity on school and Temuka routes.

“The new contract gives us the ability to increase capacity on the school and Temuka routes and also comes at a decreased cost to our ratepayers.”

“The MyWay fleet will be zero-emissions, excluding when spare vehicles are required, with improved emissions vehicles that will be used for the school and Temuka routes. All of the vehicles being used by the operator will also be equipped with copper-free brake pads,” Chair Pauling said.

“This is fantastic news and reflects on the passion and efforts of our Timaru team and Ritchies commitment to our national zero emissions journey,” said Ritchies Transport CEO Michele Kernahan. “The innovative thinking behind MyWay and the local team’s willingness to embrace change has played a huge part in the programme’s success”.

“MyWay is a great example of putting the customer first, of adapting a traditional model to the consumer’s needs, and we’re proud to have been chosen to continue the MyWay journey," she added.

Councillor Joe Davies said that the community had strongly supported MyWay, and that the service had reached an exciting milestone, recording the city’s highest level of patronage for almost a quarter of a century.

“We recorded almost 267,000 passenger trips in Timaru over the 2023-24 Financial Year, which is fantastic given where we were before MyWay was introduced,” Cr Davies said.

The previous record was 263,000 trips recorded in the 2001-02 Financial Year.

Councillor Peter Scott said the service enabled people to get to where they needed easily, and on demand, which is something he was proud the Council could provide for the community.

“This service has been popular due to its convenience and simplicity, and we are pleased that it can continue into the future,” Cr Scott said.

“We want to take this opportunity to thank Timaru residents for their ongoing support which has helped make this service such a success,” he added.

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