More than 4 million people travelled on Hamilton buses in the past year, according to a newly released report. All the city bus services increased its total passenger numbers by about 800,000 compared to the year before.
 
According to Paula Southgate, the deputy chair of the Regional Transport Committee, the introduction of two new Direct services, the rolling out of Sunday buses and other network enhancements to the general bus service probably induced more Hamiltonians to ride on the bus network. She added that the Government sponsored free off peak SuperGold cards was another boosting point.
 
Higher petrol costs and the “ever increasing awareness of the benefits of public transportation” were of course two undeniable factors in the increase of bus passenger numbers seen over the last few years. This year’s numbers ending in June 30 proved a remarkable increase of 21 percent from last year and 57 percent increase from the year 2006-2007.
 
Hamilton’s bus services provide a more cost effective way of travelling around the city while conserving the environment at the same time. According to Paula, the bus services greatly help in reducing traffic congestion on the roads and saving money that would have been used for road construction. Improvements and revisions to the Passenger Transport Plan and to Hamilton’s bus services will continue to proceed in order to create a balance between great service and cost effectiveness. The latest change to Hamilton’s bus service is the change in management with Pavlovich Coachlines taking over the running of the Orbiter, City Express and the CBD Shuttle services. The new deal with Environment Waikato is expected to see 17 new lower emission buses introduced in the bus fleet, but bus fares will remain the same.
 
A few years ago, one might not have expected the bus services in Hamilton to have been a success but now it carries about the same number of passengers as number of people living in New Zealand now. As Paula Southgate said, “The growing use of Hamilton’s buses is a real success story”.