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A new weekly bus service from Kaiwaka to Whangārei, via Mangawhai, was launched on Thursday, August 1 in a partnership between Northland Regional Council (NRC) and Wellsford bus company Leabourn Passenger Services.
The Bream Bay Link is a trial service that will run every Thursday for the next year, with one-way and return trips costing from $5 to $10. However, during the early stages at least, drivers will have some discretion to charge $3 one way for a partial trip, such as Kaiwaka to Mangawhai. The new service is being subsidised by NRC and the NZ Transport Agency.
A 30-seater Leabourn bus leaves Kaiwaka Hall at 9am and travels via Mangawhai Village, Mangawhai Heads, Langs Beach, Waipu and Ruakaka, arriving at the Whangārei bus terminus at 10.50am. It leaves Whangārei at 3pm and arrives back in Kaiwaka at 4.50pm.
Originally, the trial service was set to run only between Waipu and Whangārei, but was extended after Leabourn suggested there would be demand for a bus serving Kaiwaka and Mangawhai as well.
NRC’s transport strategic planning officer, Sharlene Selkirk, says Council is keen to hear feedback on the new Bream Bay Link and is open to suggestions.
“We’d really like people to tell us what they think of the service, what might be useful to them and what more we can do with this trial to help us improve it as we go,” she says.
There will be formal reviews of the route in January and April, but in the meantime there is flexibility to make changes based on passenger feedback.
“That’s the point of a trial service,” she adds.
Passengers can also be picked up from anywhere along the route, providing they call Leabourn on 0800 994404 to arrange this on the Wednesday before they want to travel.
In the past, Leabourn ran its own, unsubsidised monthly shoppers’ service to Whangārei, but was forced to stop that three years ago as many people found the $35 return fare too high and it became unviable. Ms Selkirk says the company’s experience underlines the importance of public support for the new Bream Bay Link. However, initial reaction to news of the service and its $10 maximum return fares was enthusiastic on several local social media pages.
Information about the new bus service, including timetables and fares, is available on 0800 994404, at buslink.co.nz or via email from office@leabourn.co.nz.
Any feedback should be emailed to buslink@nrc.govt.nz.
