Thousands of visitors are expected in Dunedin on Monday, 1 January with New Year’s Day bringing more than 7,000 passengers to Port Chalmers on the Majestic Princess and Royal Princess.

ORC’s Manager Transport, Lorraine Cheyne says “If the ships arrive as expected January 1 will be a busy day for Port Chalmers bus services.

“As with other busy days, ORC will be running extra bus services to and from Port Chalmers. A ticket seller will be based in Port Chalmers Library to sell return tickets to cruise ship passengers.”

“The extra buses will be timed with the arrival & departure of the ships, but it will still be a very busy day and people should expect queues and wait times for buses. People are asked to remember that it is the holiday season, and we are doing our best for both locals and holiday makers wanting to use our buses.”

Cruise passengers heading back to Port Chalmers on the public bus will be encouraged to catch it from outside Centre City New World in Cumberland Street where drivers have been asked to leave with capacity for passengers at later stops.

Ms Cheyne asked passengers to note that the additional buses will not run if ships are cancelled.

“If both ships are cancelled the normal Orbus public holiday service will run but the additional buses will not.

Cruise passengers are encouraged to use private buses offered by their ships, but many choose to take the public bus instead.

“We’ll continue working closely with Port Otago and the West Harbour Community Board during the cruise ship season,” says Ms Cheyne.

People can stay up to date by downloading the Transit App, following the Orbus Dunedin Facebook page or visiting the ORC website.

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