Naked Bus Reveal Whale Design Bus in Support of Charity

Naked Bus Reveal Whale Design Bus in Support of Rescue Charity Project Jonah

Whale Watchers – Keep a look out for a special whale hitting the roads of New Zealand in May.

An exciting new whale will shortly be travelling the roads and highways of New Zealand.

The ‘Whale Bus’ marks the collaboration between low-cost bus operator Naked Bus and whale rescue charity Project Jonah.

Project Jonah has been saving marine mammals since 1974. Through dedicated training and education programmes, the charity provides emergency response for stranded whales and dolphins throughout New Zealand.

A competition was run through social media in late 2013 asking members of the public to submit artwork which would then be applied to the bus. “The winning design, by Ana Aceves from Nelson, was chosen as it best depicted what Project Jonah stands for – the rescue, action and protection of marine mammals” said Project Jonah’s General Manager, Daren Grover.

Naked Bus is New Zealand's low-cost, long distance bus operator which launched in 2006 and now has a nationwide network reaching from Kerikeri to Invercargill. “This is only the start of Naked Bus and Project Jonah’s relationship. In the coming months, Naked Bus will provide unsold seats to Project Jonah volunteers enabling them to travel to and from unfortunate strandings free of charge.

Whether this means taking volunteers from Auckland to Keri Keri or Dunedin to Invercargill, we want to steer one worry away so the focus can be on the marine mammals,” said Hamish Nuttall, CEO of Naked Bus.

To celebrate the launch, the ‘Whale Bus’ will surface on the shore of Mission Bay (Selwyn Reserve) on Saturday, 17 May, at noon. Members of the public are invited to come along for an afternoon of giveaways (including free bus trips) and to ‘christen’ the Whale Bus.

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