Fares are set to rise for an on-demand bus service in Tauranga, despite its popularity.
From 2025, the adult fare will be $5 per trip or $4 for those with an electronic Bee Card.
The current adult fares are $3.40, reduced to $2.72 with a Bee Card per trip which is standard across the bus network.
While the service is popular with its users, the average cost per passenger is about $28 and the council wants to ensure the service remains “financially viable”.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council manages public transport in the region and started the Baybus OnDemand trial in Tauranga South in March to enhance public transport flexibility and sustainability.
The $1.9 million trial came with “unique costs”, the council’s public transport director Oliver Haycock said.
Bookings for the on-demand service can be made through an app or over the phone. Photo / Bay of Plenty Regional Council
The operating costs were within projections but fare revenue from July to September only recovered 6.2% of costs.
The average fare recovery ratio across the Tauranga bus network was 12.8%.
The current average cost per passenger was $27.93, the council’s six-month performance report showed. This was 10 times more than the adult Bee Card fare.
Fare adjustments were necessary to ensure the service remained sustainable, Haycock said in a statement.
“This service is about creating better connections, but we also need to make it financially viable.
“To test how customers respond to pricing changes, we’re proposing fare adjustments that balance affordability and sustainability.”
Feedback showed 46% of customers would still use the service if fares were increased to $5.
The service had carried 18,798 passengers in six months, a 536% increase compared to the fixed Route 51 service, from Pyes Pā to Tauranga Crossing, it replaced.
The on-demand service in Tauranga South replaced a fixed route service. Photo / Mead Norton
Route 51 carried an average of 487 passengers per month, at an estimated operating cost of $147,000 per annum.
Most of the passengers were seniors travelling for free with the SuperGold concession.
The average cost per passenger on route 51 was $25.17, the route had the lowest fare recovery ratio in Tauranga in 2023/24.
The on-demand buses covered the Greerton, Gate Pā, Parkvale, Pyes Pā, Lakes and Tauriko suburbs.
Riders had embraced the service, with 93% giving it a five-star rating, and 92% said the current fares were good value for money, according to an August survey.
One customer said it was “a fantastic service that has allowed our family to access more things, like taking my son to swimming lessons”.
Another user with mobility challenges said: “This service has changed my life for the better. It’s opened up so many more options in my life”.
The service offered 1600 virtual stops, a significant increase from the 150 stops available under the fixed-route model.
Andrew von Dadelszen, chair of the regional council public transport committee. Photo / George Novak
The buses, which included four eight-seater electric minivans and one five-seater with ramps and a wheelchair hoist, did not stick to routes or a schedule.
Users log their location on the BayBus OnDemand app and say where in Tauranga South they want to go and when.
The trial had been funded by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi with a 49% and 51% split, respectively.
Andrew von Dadelszen, chair of the regional council public transport committee, said the service was reshaping the way Tauranga residents viewed public transport.
“Public transport isn’t just about moving people; it’s about meeting them where they are and providing smarter solutions to modern challenges.
“The community’s positive response shows the potential of this approach, and we’re learning valuable lessons for the future.”
The Baybus OnDemand trial was expected to continue until September 2025, with reviews planned at 12 months and 18 months.
Data collected would help inform decisions about the service’s long-term potential.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
5 comments
Hmmm
Posted on 29-11-2024 18:34 | By Let's get real
So many issues arising.
How is increasing the fare going to diminish the cost per passenger if it scares away those that have to pay full fare..? We're still going to see Goldcard passengers paying nothing and MSD paying minimum charges as a subsidy.
How much would it cost for an Uber anywhere within the ondemand area..? I doubt that it would be $28 each way.
If it's costing $28 per trip for a tiny 8 seater van, with smaller operating costs, what is the cost per passenger on the empty buses..? The only information given is for the 51 route, which is the shortest run of any in terms of Kilometres.
Just how much does it cost per passenger journey..? Without including any costs to ratepayers for damage to the roads or ongoing costs for outside of contract additional services.. just the cost per paying passenger journey..?
Let's get real - a sad read
Posted on 30-11-2024 09:56 | By Murray.Guy
The current adult fares are $3.40, reduced to $2.72 with a Bee Card per trip which is standard across the bus network. While the service is popular with its users, the average cost per passenger is about $28 and the council wants to ensure the service remains “financially viable”.
The operating costs were within projections but fare revenue from July to September only recovered 6.2% of costs. The average fare recovery ratio across the Tauranga bus network was 12.8%. The current average cost per passenger was $27.93, the council’s six-month performance report showed. This was 10 times more than the adult Bee Card fare.
Fare adjustments were necessary to ensure the service remained sustainable, Haycock said in a statement.
@Murray.Guy
Posted on 01-12-2024 12:10 | By Let's get real
As a former coach company owner and councillor, you will know of the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes, as well as I do. But I have never found out if providing a major loss making public transport system, is a government requirement or it is merely a nice to have project..?
There are much cheaper ways to provide options for the disabled sector and school transport is already the main income for most of the transport companies. So if it's a government requirement to provide transport for those that can't afford it, why isn't the MSD providing it through taxes...? Or taxi chits with community services cards..?
All we are doing is paying an Aussie based company, to employ overseas workers, at higher wages than other companies, to drive around in empty vehicles.
International visitors tend to use taxis or Uber in the modern world, NOT BUSES.
Hmmm
Posted on 01-12-2024 12:32 | By Let's get real
The idea that a modern city (which we are NOT, by international standards, and never will be) must have public transport, is so out of date and ridiculous when you take a reasoned approach to the problem. There is absolutely nowhere in the whole world where a public transport system has caused the roads to be free flowing (other than maybe North Korea).
The days when owning your own mode of transport was out of reach are long gone, along with the desire to spend time with people that you don't know.
Yet we insist that public transport MUST continue at any cost and we'll also spend billions on cycle paths so that you can travel there on your own as well.
NZ is built around independent living and having to travel huge distances, so why try to force people to use a bus.
Wow
Posted on 03-12-2024 19:24 | By Kancho
What a huge waste of money and such poor recovery from fares. Seems it's money down the drain and our rates and regional council levy
A drop in the bucket. That with cycle lanes etc a huge cost and impeding traffic flow. We are on a hiding to nothing unless other ideas are tried. Doing the same thing always consigns us to the same result.
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