The start of the three month trial of a new public bus service connecting Hāwea, Hāwea Flat, Albert Town and Wānaka begins today (Wednesday September 28) after the service was launched at an event held in the Wānaka Community Hub yesterday. 

The trial initiative has been developed by Community Networks/LINK, with operational guidance from the Otago Regional Council (ORC) and Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC). 

The service will be delivered by local transport provider Yello! (Wānaka Transport Group) which has leased a 13 seater bus for  the duration of the trial, complete with bike rack and a fully accessible wheelchair hoist.

At yesterday’s launch, Community Networks/LINK manager Kathy Dedo said the trial’s success will be measured by the data collected of bus use and the feedback they receive - good or bad.

“It is an experiment; a huge learning exercise and… even if the data says no one's riding the bus, that’s helpful because we’ll know more than we knew before and we wouldn’t know that without trying [the service].”

The shuttle will run Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, servicing 13 bus stops between the Wānaka CBD, Wānaka Lakes Health Centre, Three Parks, Albert Town, Lake Hāwea and Hāwea Flat, for $2 per ride. 

Kathy said although there is a set timetable the trial has some flexibility: “Even within the trial period itself, we can respond to needs if the demand is there”. 

The trial is limited in scale to three months by its funding, she said, acknowledging the Otago Community Trust for providing the largest single grant to the project.   

It’s a short term service, but the data gathered will provide long-term information for ORC and  QLDC staff to analyse for future community transport development, she said.

“It is serving a particular purpose connecting outlying townships to town but we can't be all things to all people,” she said, which is why the feedback was so important.

Anyone who rides the bus will get a survey to complete but of equal importance is feedback from those who don’t use the shuttle, advising why the service doesn’t meet their needs or suggesting improvements, Kathy said. 

Hāwea resident and founding member of The Wise Ones (an active social group for Hāwea residents over 60 years) Colleen Carr said demand for public transport between Hāwea and Wānaka has grown in recent years.

She said the team behind the trial has worked hard to create a good circuit and timetable and she’s hopeful it will be well supported.   

“I think they've thought it through very well. And $2 is hardly a huge expenditure. For a lot of people on a tight budget, it's much better than bringing the car in,” she said.

With a bus stop opposite the central Wānaka New World supermarket its staff were invited to attend the launch and staff member Kirsty McNeill said she was “100 percent” in support of the shuttle.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” she said, and with the build up towards summer it was a good time to run the trial. “We'll have a whole lot of students working in town and a lot of them live out on the outskirts; [but] it's all about communicating - if people know about it I think it’ll get a lot of use.” 

For more information on the shuttle trial, including how to book a seat and provide feedback, visit the Community Networks/LINK website.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App