Bus services improved
Two popular bus services from Hamilton to Te Awamutu and Hamilton to Cambridge are getting an upgrade with the addition of several extra evening and weekend runs.
From 20 January 2020, Waikato Regional Council’s BUSIT service will offer extra weekend and public holiday runs and a weekday evening run on both of its services. The new evening run will depart Hamilton at 6.15pm for Cambridge and Te Awamutu - an hour later than the current latest evening run.
The 8am Te Awamutu to Hamilton service has also been brought forward to 7.45am, to better meet the needs of passengers.
Waipā District Council service delivery group manager Dawn Inglis said it is hoped that these additional runs will make it more feasible for commuters to use the bus service as their daily method of transport.
“The bus service needs to be an option for everyone. With the last run back to Cambridge and Te Awamutu at 5.15pm some people weren’t able to make it to the bus stop in time, so this later service will mean they won’t miss out.”
Waikato Regional Council public transport manager Andrew Wilson said feedback received from passengers had shown there was a great demand for additional runs on each service.
“We’ve been hearing from our daily commuters for some time that a later evening service would make balancing work, life and travel much easier for them.”
Changes have also been made to bus times on both services throughout the day. Passengers are encouraged to check the timetable at busit.co.nz or call the 24-hour bus Infoline on 0800 205 305.
The Te Awamutu and Cambridge bus services are funded by way of fares, as well as by Waipā District Council, Waikato Regional Council and an NZ Transport Agency subsidy.