Public transport in Dunedin


Public transport in Dunedin, New Zealand is mainly by bus. The Otago Regional Council designs routes and schedules and contracts operation of bus services to two bus companies, Go Bus Transport and Ritchies Transport. Services operate daily at mainly 15 to 30-minute headways; services on evenings, weekends and holidays operate at about half the weekday frequency and there are no services on late Sunday or holiday evenings, nor on Christmas Day, Good Friday or Easter Sunday.
Bus fares are paid for by cash or by the electronic ticketing system GoCard which replaced paper multi-trip tickets in November 2007. The service carries 2.2 million passengers per year

Routes

Most routes are cross-city routes via the city centre. Longer-distance routes terminate in the centre. Semi-orbital route 15 Ridge Runner links most inner suburbs but avoids the centre. The Mosgiel 77 semi-express service has a branch route 70 connecting at Green Island and a figure-8-shaped 80/81 Mosgiel Loop connecting on Mosgiel's main street, Gordon Rd. Transferring between routes, historically not a feature of Dunedin bus services, is more favourable under the current fare regime.
Route number 'Outer terminusviaCity stopviaOuter terminusBus operator
1PalmerstonWaikouaiti, Karitane, Waitati, Dunedin-Waitati HighwayCumberland St --Ritchies
3Ross CreekGlenleith, George StreetOctagonSouth Dunedin, TainuiOcean GroveGo Bus
5/6Pine HillGardens, George StreetOctagonCavershamLookout PointRitchies
8NormanbyGardens, George StreetOctagonCargill's Corner, South DunedinSt ClairGo Bus
10/11OpohoGardens, George StreetOctagonSouth Dunedin, MusselburghShiel HillRitchies
14Port Chalmers Careys Bay, Port Chalmers, Sawyers Bay, Roseneath, St Leonards, Burkes, Ravensbourne, Logan Park, University, George Street, Octagon Cumberland St --Ritchies
15 "Ridge Rider" University Gardens, North Dunedin, Maori Hill, Roslyn, Mornington,--South Dunedin Ritchies
18PortobelloEdwards Bay, Turnbulls Bay, Broad Bay, Company Bay, Macandrew Bay, The Cove, ExchangeCumberland St --Ritchies
19WaverleyMusselburgh, South Dunedin, ExchangeCumberland St and OctagonCity RiseBelleknowesGo Bus
33CorstorphineCaversham, Cargill's CornerOctagonCity Rise, Roslyn, KaikoraiWakariGo Bus
37/38Concord 'Kenmure, Bradford, Kaikorai, Moana PoolGeorge St ; Octagon Otago MuseumUniversity 'Ritchies
44St KildaCargill's Corner, ExchangeOctagonKaikoraiBrockvilleGo Bus
50HelensburghBalmacewen, Maori Hill, City RiseOctagonCargill's Corner, Kew, St Clair ParkCorstorphineGo Bus
55St KildaCargill's Corner, ExchangeOctagonKaikoraiHalfway BushGo Bus
61KenmureMornington, ExchangeCumberland St --Go Bus
63BalaclavaMornington, ExchangeOctagonOtago Museum, UniversityLogan ParkRitchies
70BrightonOcean View, Waldronville, Abbotsford--Green Island Go Bus
77 Mosgiel
Centre Street		Gordon Rd, Fairfield, Sunnyvale, Green Island, Dunedin Southern Motorway, ExchangeCumberland St --Go Bus
80-Mosgiel Loop east circuit---Go Bus
81'''-Mosgiel Loop west circuit---Go Bus

Dunedin's bus network is designed and managed by the Otago Regional Council. Fares are levied to cover about half of operating cost with the balance subsidised by Otago Regional Council ratepayers and New Zealand Transport Agency. Buses use the individual companies' livery with Otago Regional Council stickers added. Until 2015, all services operated under the brand Gobus; this ended when a bus company with a similar name began serving the city. The regional council intends to introduce a new brand Orbus to the network Safety standards are regulated by the NZ Transport Agency. The Dunedin City Council has no administrative role other than as provider of the road infrastructure, street furniture such as signs and seats and regulation of parking at bus stops. However, the city council is involved in discussions with the regional council over taking over the management of public transport.

History of public transport in Dunedin

The Dunedin City Council operated and managed most public transport until 1986 including the Dunedin cable tramway system between 1881 and 1957, electric trams from 1900 to 1956, trolleybuses from 1950 to 1982 and motor buses from 22 April 1925 to 1986. From 1986, management of bus services became the responsibility of the Otago Regional Council; the city council continued as a contracted operator of many services through its subsidiary Citibus.
New Zealand Railways operated commuter trains from the Dunedin Railway Station to Port Chalmers and to Wingatui and Mosgiel until 1979 and 1982, respectively. Reintroduction of rail services is suggested from time to time NZR, through its Road Services division, from 1985 known as Cityline, also operated motor buses to the suburbs of Warrington, Cherry Farm, Brighton, Outram and Mosgiel until Cityline was privatised in 1991 – the Dunedin fleet was sold to Newtons Coachways. All the above-mentioned train or bus routes except Warrington and Outram continue to be served by the present bus system.
In early times, there were ferries connecting the central city to Port Chalmers and Portobello, but these ceased between the 1930s and 2018 as road connections along the harbour's edge were improved.
Former privately owned public transport operators in Dunedin included Turnbulls ; Newtons, Otago Road Services, all of whom operated services over several decades from the 1950s to the 1980s and 1990s. From the late 1980s onwards, Cesta Travel and Dunedin Passenger Transport operated a wide range of routes on various short-term contracts.
In late January 2020, the Dunedin City Council voted to reduce bus fares while exploring the re-establishment of a commuter rail link between Mosgiel and the Dunedin city centre. This includes allocating NZ$600,000 to bus subsidies.

Other transport services

Taxi companies in Dunedin include the following:
There are no conventional airport bus services to Dunedin International Airport: this airport is served by a large fleet of shuttle vans provided by several operators including most of the local taxi companies. Airport shuttle vans typically stop several times en route to pick up or let off booked passengers.
As of 2018, there is one scheduled ferry between Port Chalmers and Portobello.