More buses more often

Have you seen the new double decker buses around town yet?

Waikato Regional Council has introduced two New Zealand built double decker buses in the city to cater for increased demand in Hamilton.

The new green and silver buses provide more on-board capacity during peak times. They can each carry 100 people – and with 87 seats they’re a comfortable and unique way to travel around the city.

The double deckers – affectionately coined ‘Deedee and Decklan’ by BUSIT’s Facebook community – travel on the Orbiter route in the morning and afternoon peak times. Two blue and silver double decker buses have also recently joined the BUSIT fleet and will soon begin operating on the busy routes between Raglan and Hamilton and the Northern Connector, which links Huntly and Ngāruawāhia to Hamilton via The Base.

But the double deckers aren’t the only recent improvements made to your bus service. The bus fleet has undergone a major upgrade, with all buses either new or refurbished, with more comfortable seating, USB chargers and new livery and destination signage.

Waikato has a comprehensive bus network, attracting around four million passenger trips each year. Hamilton has about 900 bus stops and the network is growing. With rolling route and timetable improvements underway, we’re continuously improving your bus network.

A number of routes have recently had weekend services added, been extended into new areas of the city and had additional bus stops installed. More information on the main changes are detailed below.

As much as we’d love to, we can’t stop in every street, every hour, but we’re working hard to give passengers more choice and flexibility, as well as a better travel experience. Thanks for getting on board, Hamilton!

0	Orbiter	Now runs every 15 minutes between 6am and 6pm weekdays and has a fleet of brand new buses with next stop screens and audio messaging on board. No longer loops around Old Farm Road and Cameron Road – instead travels a more direct route via Ruakura Road, Knighton Road and Clyde Street.

1	Pukete	Now travels to The Base every trip.

2	Silverdale	Additional services put on at school times to better serve Hillcrest High School. Trips also alternate between Masters Ave, and Morris, Morrinsville and Silverdale roads.

3	Dinsdale	Minor timetable changes made.

4	Flagstaff	Service now travels through to the Rototuna Shopping Centre. At peak times some buses go directly from Flagstaff to town via River Road, and don’t travel via Chartwell, to improve journey times.

4N	Flagstaff North	This service focuses on school travel between Flagstaff and Rototuna and eastern schools. Bus service from the Flagstaff North area continues throughout the day and on weekends as part of the extended 4 Flagstaff service and the new RC Rototuna Circular services.

5	Chartwell	Now runs hourly, seven days a week and travels through to Huntington.

6	Mahoe	Monday to Friday until 6pm, this service terminates at MacDonald Road, near New World. After 6pm weekdays and on weekends and public holidays the 6 Mahoe and 7 Glenview services are combined.

7	Glenview	Now operates as a Monday to Friday service. Route has been extended to cover Houchens Road area.

8	Frankton	Minor timetable changes made.

9	Nawton	This route now travels to The Base.

10	Hillcrest	This service now runs seven days a week and travels via the Hayes Paddock area.

11	Fairfield	Buses now travel to Chartwell via Clarkin and Bankwood Roads.

12	Fitzroy	Service now operates seven days a week, with a change to the route after 6pm weekdays and on weekends around the Alison Street/hospital areas.

13	University	This route now travels further along Cameron and Old Farm roads.

14	Claudelands	Minor timetable changes made.

RC	Rototuna Circular	A new bus route that links Chartwell, Flagstaff and Rototuna, with some services travelling through to town at peak times. The service runs as a loop, with buses in both directions.

16	Rototuna	This service has been extended further north and now also encompasses the Callum Brae area.

17	Hamilton East University	This route now operates at peak times only Monday to Friday. Alternative route options operate throughout Hamilton East at all other times.

18	Te Rapa	This bus has also been extended to The Base. Route changes have also taken place around the Maeroa/Forest Lake area.

26	Bremworth/Templeview	Minor timetable changes made.

29	Hamilton Gardens	This route has become a dedicated Hamilton Gardens service and also travels to Hamilton Park Cemetery on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.