Bus provider, Waikato Regional Council says, “New wave of Raglan bus services coming”
Raglan residents are set to catch a new wave of upgraded bus services from 18 April.
Waikato Regional Council has contracted Go Bus to provide the improved services. They involve brand new, larger silver and blue buses which will be used on the current Raglan, Raglan Assist and Whatawhata routes.
The new buses will be fully air-conditioned, and have free Wi-Fi, USB charging points, bike racks and increased luggage space on board. All buses will also have CCTV for added security.
The timetable will also be improved with Sunday and public holiday services, and an extra return service in the middle of week days. The new middle of the day service will leave Raglan at 9.30am and return at 12.15pm.
The Sunday and public holiday services will be at the same times as the Saturday timetable.
The regional council’s public transport operations manager Andrew Wilson said the boosted Raglan buses were part of a new wave of improved regional services.
“It’s great to have worked with the community board, Waikato District Council, NZ Transport Agency and Go Bus to get these new operations in place,” said Mr Wilson.
Bob McLeod, chair of the Raglan Community Board said: “We look forward to implementation of upcoming Improvements and continuing to work with the regional council to identify and implement further enhancements informed by community feedback.”
Waikato District Council Raglan Ward Councillor, Lisa Thomson, said: “Our community is looking forward to the new bus service for Raglan. The greater capacity, weekend services, new timetable, comfy seating, combined with the ability to have bikes or surfboards on board, will certainly appeal to more people and will hopefully encourage more to use the service.”
The Transport Agency’s Waikato and Bay of Plenty regional director, Parekawhia McLean said: “We are excited to have worked with our partners at the councils to bring a new level of service to the people.
“We would also like to congratulate Go Bus for coming up with a solution for public transport users that not only shows value for money but also gives these communities a high quality transport option.”
Go Bus said it was delighted to have been awarded the contract to operate buses between Hamilton and Raglan.
“Having operated services in the region for a number of years we’ve got to know the community well and our drivers will be especially happy to have the opportunity to continue getting people to and from these iconic Waikato towns,” Go Bus’s managing director Calum Haslop said.
“We are also pleased to be introducing brand new EURO 5 low emission buses to the routes, which are equipped with not only USB charging ports, free Wi-Fi and cycle racks, but also coach style seating and a five camera CCTV system for added passenger safety.”
Odd that they don’t mention the 11.20 is retimed to 1.40 and that NZTA describe it as “a high quality transport option”. Would they use that description for a road open 5 times a day?