Public transport in Dunedin

Public transport in Dunedin, New Zealand is mainly by bus. Four bus companies operate routes under their respective brands, but co-branded with the Otago Regional Council as "GoBus". A total of 16 weekday routes and 11 routes that operate in weekends. The GoBus Brand has recently been introduced to highlight improvements made to Dunedin's bus system.

Ticketing

Bus fares are paid for by cash, or by the electronic ticketing system "GoCard" which replaced paper multi-trip tickets in November 2007.

Bus operators

The GoBus Network has four local bus companies who use a fleet of over 30 low floor wheelchair accessible buses, out of a total peak hour fleet of over 46 buses. [http://www.orc.govt.nz/portal.asp?categoryid=8 "Dunedin public bus services" on Otago Regional Council website] ]

Citibus

Citibus is 100% owned by Dunedin City Council and operates these routes:

Weekday Routes

* Normanby - St Clair
* Pine Hill - Lookout Point
* Opoho - Shiel Hill
* City - Portobello
* City - Port Chalmers
* St Kilda - Brockville, Halfway Bush
* City - Waverly
* Corstorphine, St Clair - Wakari, Helensburgh
* University - Kenmure
* University - Balaclava

Weeknights, Weekends & Public Holidays Routes
* Normanby - St Clair (Weeknights & Saturdays Only)
* City - Portobello
* City - Port Chalmers

Passenger Transport

Passenger Transport, based in Invercargill operates these routes:

Weekday Routes

* Maori Hill - University
* Garden Village, Leith Valley - University - Ocean Grove
* Mosgiel, Fairfield (including the Mosgiel express services)
* Green Island, Abbotsford, Brighton
* Concord - Kaikorai Valley - University. (Currently a Trial Route)
* The Campus Circuit - A circuit travelling around the university, gardens and CBD. (Currently a Trial Route)

Weeknights, Weekends & Public Holidays Routes - Inner City Routes are combined & simplified on Weeknights, Weekends & Public Holiday's & are tendered as one separate contract. Passenger Transport currently has this contract.

* Octagon - Brockville, Halfwaybush
* Octagon - St Kilda, Sheil Hill, Waverly
* Octagon - Pine Hill, Opoho
* Octagon - Lookout Point, Corstorphine
* Octagon - Kenmure, Balaclava
* Octagon - Roslyn, Wakari, Maori Hill - University
* Mosgiel, Fairfield
* Green Island, Abbotsford, Brighton
* Normanby - St Clair (Sundays Only)

Mosgiel Coach Services

* Mosgiel Loops West & East (Operated Weekdays only, Operated with A Super Low Floor Bus)

Palmerston Minibus Services

* Palmerston, Waikouaiti, Karitane, Waitati - Dunedin

Taxi Companies

*City Taxis
*Dunedin Taxis
*Otago Taxis
*United Taxis Dunedin

Other transport services

*Taieri Gorge Railway's tourist trains provide transport to isolated areas for locals, by prior arrangement

Airport transport

There are no conventional bus services to Dunedin International Airport: this airport is served by a large fleet of shuttle vans provided by several operators including most of the local taxi companies. Airport shuttle vans travel non-stop to or from the fringes of the city, picking up or dropping passengers at each address.

Organising public transport in Dunedin

The vast majority of Dunedin's bus network is designed, specified, contracted and subsidised by the Otago Regional Council and funded by ratepayers. A couple of bus routes are operated commercially outside the Regional Council's influence. All services are regulated by safety authority Land Transport New Zealand. The Dunedin City Council has no administrative role other than as provider of road infrastructure, street furniture such as signs and seats and regulation of parking at bus stops. However the City Council has an influential role as owner of one of the biggest bus companies, Citibus. This company seldom operates at a profit, so arguably operates under a de-facto subsidy by city ratepayers.

History of Public Transport in Dunedin

The city formerly operated other forms of public transport — the Dunedin cable tramway system (similar to the famous San Francisco cable cars) operated between 1881 and 1957, and electric trams operated on several routes from 1900 to 1956. Commuter trains ran from the Dunedin Railway Station to Mosgiel and Port Chalmers until 1982 and 1979, respectively. In early times, there were ferries connecting the central city to Port Chalmers and Portobello, but these ceased when road connections along the harbour's edge were improved.

The Taieri Gorge Railway has expressed interest in running a reinstated commuter rail service in Dunedin, but has no plans to proceed with the idea without funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency. The Otago Regional Council is opposed, maintaining that Dunedin's passenger transport requirements are being adequately served by the bus system. [cite journal |quotes= |last= |first= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2008 |month=October |title=Down At The Station |journal=The New Zealand Railway Observer |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=153 |publisher=New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society |location=Wellington |issn=0028-8624 |pmid= |pmc= |doi= |bibcode= |oclc= |id= |url= |language= |format= |accessdate= |laysummary= |laysource= |laydate= |quote=]

Historical proposals

Plans for ferries between Port Chalmers and Portobello, or for a bridge across the Otago Harbour between these two settlements, have been mooted frequently, but have never reached fruition.

During the 19th century, plans were also mooted for a canal between the Pacific coast at Saint Kilda and Anderson's Bay, close to the head of the harbour. Again, these were never carried out.

References

External links

* [http://orc.govt.nz Otago Regional Council]
* [http://transportplace.co.nz Citibus]