Bike racks will once again be available for bus passengers to use on regional Waikato services, with their staged rollout to occur over the next month.

Regional buses travelling in Hamilton and the surrounding districts will be ready to accept bikes from Monday, 12 May. Tokoroa and Taupō bus services will be ready to go from Monday, 2 June, once some modifications have been made.

The Bus and Coach Association (BCA) and its members who operate contracted bus services in the Waikato region, issued a national notice to temporarily withdraw the use of bicycle racks on buses in November last year.

It followed a safety alert published by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) stating that operators with bike racks on the front of buses were non-compliant with safety rules at night.

Waikato Regional Council has been working closely with its regional sector partners, operators, the BCA and NZTA to resolve the issue.

This has included thorough testing which has determined bike racks can be safely used. As a result, NZTA has now issued an exemption to public transport authorities throughout the country.

Future Proof Public Transport Subcommittee Deputy Chair Angela Strange said while the decision had only impacted a small number of passengers, the disruption had been regrettable and a significant effort had gone into resolving the issue.

“We are pleased to be able to offer bike racks again and know their reinstatement will be warmly welcomed by our customers,” she said.

Bike racks are only mounted on buses operating on Waikato regional bus routes and not on the urban Hamilton network. Carriage of bikes on Te Huia had not been affected.

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