Community surveyed on bus interest
by Charley-Kai John · Otago Daily Times Online NewsAn exercise under way seeks to understand the community interest in a daily public bus service between Oamaru and Dunedin.
The Otago Regional Council and the Oamaru Community Shuttle Steering Group are surveying people on a proposed service which could begin before the end of the year.
The steering group has been gathering a wide range of passenger feedback for months as part of the trial shuttle service it has been providing the community, with the aim that the council ultimately steps in with a public service.
The trial is due to finish at the end of September.
The council said it was gathering “additional data to that already obtained through the community trial”.
ORC regional planning and transport general manager Anita Dawe said the council were “working closely” with the steering group.
“We want to thank group members for collecting data from their trial, which is very helpful and will support future discussions on public transport services.
“It is important that we are also clear with the community that any potential future services will depend on what we find when we consider the options alongside costs, how we fund this service and related decisions on fare zone structures.”
Cr Alan Somerville, who holds the ORC transport portfolio co-lead, said the council wanted to gauge passenger demand and preferences for how the service would run, including departure times and whether it would stop off at smaller communities along the way, such as Maheno, Herbert and Hampden.
Information gathered by community volunteers showed the shuttle was being used for a variety of reasons, including for social plans, recreational activities, shopping and medical appointments.
“We would like to know if people would use a new public transport service for the same or different reasons such as commuting between Oamaru and Dunedin for work,” Cr Somerville said.
“We're asking people how much they would be prepared to pay for this longer journey to inform fare analysis work currently under way.
“Concessions will apply in the usual way for any future service.”
The ORC survey, which had attracted hundreds of submissions so far, would close on Wednesday, the council said.
Councillors would consider the proposal at its meeting on June 24.
If the new service was approved, it could begin before the end of 2026, it said.