Extra Saturday bus services are on the way to eliminate traffic and parking hassles for families caught up in the Christmas shopping rush.
For the next three Saturdays, extra bus services will run on:
♦ Citylink routes throughout New Plymouth as well as from Bell Block and Waitara
♦ The Connector service linking Ōpunake and Hāwera with New Plymouth via Normanby, Eltham, Midhurst, Stratford, Inglewood and Egmont Village.
Timetable and route details are available at www.taranakibus.info(external link).
Up to six Saturday services will run for those in New Plymouth, Bell Block or Waitara, plus a morning service from Opunake through to Hāwera and on to New Plymouth, returning in the afternoon.
“It’s an ideal way for Christmas shoppers to avoid traffic and parking hassles,” says Chris Clarke, Transport Services Manager for the Taranaki Regional Council which provides the services through its contractors Tranzit Coachlines and Pickering Motors.
“The annual gift-buying pilgrimage can be a fun family outing on the bus, rather than an ordeal in a hot car crawling through thick traffic only to find no parking handy to town.
“If you’ve never given the buses a go before, this might be the time to try.”
Chris says the services are part of the Council’s focus on improving lifestyles for Taranaki people. “If these services are well supported, we will be able to offer more in future years.”