Tauranga bus users are being asked to check before they travel from next week, as the Bayhopper network moves to a revised COVID-19 bus timetable from Monday 21 February.

The network will temporarily move to running its reduced Saturday, Sunday and public holiday timetable on weekdays, as a way of providing more certainty for bus users who may already be experiencing the impact COVID-19 has been having on their travel recently.

School buses will still run to their usual timetables, as will bus routes 20, 22, 52x and 70.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Transport and Urban Planning Manager, James Llewellyn, said the Tauranga Bayhopper network had already been affected by the COVID-19 Omicron variant, with bus drivers and other bus operations staff needing to self-isolate or take sick leave.

“We hope by moving to our Saturday timetable we’ll be able to avoid cancelling services at short notice, which is currently becoming an issue for our passengers,” said Mr Llewellyn.

The revised bus timetable is likely to remain in place for several weeks and passengers are advised to check the Baybus website each time they travel for any updates to the timetables, or call 0800 4 BAYBUS for the latest information.

Transit app information and electronic signs at bus stops are expected to be updated by the middle of next week.

Key points

· Tauranga Bayhopper buses will move to a revised COVID-19 timetable from Monday 21 February.

· This impacts all Tauranga routes EXCEPT dedicated school bus routes and Bayhopper routes 20, 22, 52x and 70.

· The revised timetable is based on the current Saturday, Sunday and public holiday timetable for most routes.

· Bus users should get into the habit of checking www.baybus.co.nz before they travel for any further updates to the timetables.

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