Public transport in Hamilton and Waikato


Public transport in Hamilton and the Waikato Region is poorly developed. Only 0.9% of trips were made by bus in 2013/14. This compares with 2.3% nationally, which itself is amongst the lowest modal shares in the world. A Mass Transit Plan aiming to increase public transport's share in Hamilton from 3 to 10% by running services at 10 minute intervals, was to be developed in 2019, but has yet to be funded by NZTA. Waikato, like all other regions, with the exception of Auckland and Wellington, saw falls in use of public transport from 2012. As the map shows, the coverage is sparse and, even of those services which operate daily, most have only 2 or 3 buses a day in each direction. Only Hamilton urban services and those to Huntly run hourly, or more frequently. 41% of passengers travel on the three routes which run at 15 minute intervals.
Hamilton has 26 bus routes covering most of its urban area. Buses also serve Cambridge, Coromandel, Huntly, Mangakino, Morrinsville, Ngāruawāhia, Paeroa, Port Waikato, Pukekohe, Raglan, Taupō, Thames, Te Aroha, Te Awamutu, Te Kauwhata, Tīrau, Putāruru and Tokoroa. A summer shuttle runs between Hahei and Cathedral Cove. Services are operated by 99 buses, 74 of them on Hamilton urban routes.
Since the sale of the west Hamilton routes in 2018, all Hamilton buses have been operated by GoBus. From 30 Sep 2017 Pavlovich Coachlines had operated buses in west Hamilton and, prior to that, just the Orbiter.
InterCity operate long-distance bus services and some regional connections.
For a short time, in 2000/2001, Hamilton had a commuter train, the Waikato Connection. Te Huia is planned to start running 2 weekday trains each way between Hamilton and Papakura to commence some time in November 2020. The only remaining passenger train, the Northern Explorer, remains suspended after COVID-19 restrictions.
Ferries remain at Whitianga, Tairua and linking Auckland and Coromandel.
Shuttle buses provide the only public transport to a number of places, including Hamilton Airport Whitianga and Whangamatā. Until 2017 Tairua Bus served Whitianga and Ngatea and still provides some shuttles. Northern Connector bus at Hamilton Transport Centre - transferred to Pavlovich fleet in 2009. Seddon Park floodlights are in the background.

Bus Routes

Hamilton City routes

SH1">New Zealand State Highway 1">SH1 routes to Cambridge and south east - current route 20

SH1 routes to Huntly and north west - current routes 21 and 44

SH26">New Zealand State Highway 26">SH26 routes to Morrinsville and SH2">New Zealand State Highway 2">SH2 routes to east - current routes 22 and 25

SH23">New Zealand State Highway 23">SH23 routes to west coast - current route 23

SH3">New Zealand State Highway 3">SH3 routes to Te Awamutu and south west - current route 24

Education and Health buses

In addition to the buses of commercial operators and those supported by Regional Council, there is a large network of buses serving schools and a much smaller one serving hospitals. The first school bus in the country ran in Waikato on 1 April 1924, allowing local schools near Piopio to be closed. Many companies now run school bus services, including GoBus, Cambridge Travel Lines and Murphy. The Ministry of Education set 1 July 2018 as a date to withdraw ten school buses it considered could be accommodated on public buses. However, that was reduced to a possible two in 2017.
The health buses are mainly funded by the District Health Board and link Waikato Hospital to most of the regions towns and some outside the region, such as Taumarunui.
From February 2017 University of Waikato is using car parking fees to subsidise student fares by 30% and provide new bus links to Tokoroa, Putāruru, Ngāruawāhia, Huntly, Te Kauwhata, Thames, Piopio, Te Kuiti, Otorohanga, Matamata, Coromandel, Whitianga and Whangamata.

History

Public transport in Waikato started with ships and boats serving rivers, coastal beaches and ports. Those on the Waikato and Waipa were gradually displaced by the extending North Island Main Trunk railway and its branches. As roads developed, coaches started to link railway stations with other settlements.
From about 1915 service cars replaced coaches, though there were many accounts of poor roads. By 1924 the service car network was more extensive than the current services. In 1929 the Northern Steamship Co ended its passenger services, which had served ports such as Coromandel, Kawhia, Port Waikato, Raglan, Tairua, Thames and Whangamata. Some services were suspended during World War 2 due to rubber and petrol shortages.
Waikato had only one passenger tram route and that just from 1871 to 1874. In 1906 Hamilton's mayor proposed a tram to link with Frankton Junction, but voters rejected it.
The Land Transport Act 1998 added transport to Regional Council's responsibilities.

Patronage

Totals of rural and urban passenger journeys per financial year in Waikato
Sources 1962–76, 1991–95, 1996–2001, 2002–2007, 2008, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
In the year to March 2016 patronage in Hamilton was down 6.4% to 3,636,214 and declined a further 5.3% in Hamilton, and 4.1% on satellite routes, to February 2017. Hamilton patronage was down 0.5% in the year to July 2018, but up 0.19% with satellite routes included.
This table shows patronage by routes for the year to January 2017 -
routepatronagechange from 2016
52 Orbiter & CBD Shuttle1,035,003-10.2%
21 Northern Connector 242,110-3.4%
2 Silverdale208,521-1.3%
16 Rototuna180,030-8.8%
8 Frankton173,344-7.3%
6 Mahoe153,155-2.4%
3 Dinsdale148,164-1.7%
18 Te Rapa140,598-5%
13 University133,236-2.7%
17 Hamilton E / University125,853-2.4%
9 Nawton118,541-6.3%
12 Fitzroy115,903-3.5%
1 Pukete113,700-5.5%
4 Flagstaff109,986-5.5%
14 Claudelands105,947-5.5%
7 Glenview102,517-3.9%
10 Hillcrest94,272-5.1%
11 Fairfield92,185-12.2%
50 Rototuna direct75,06824.7%
5 Chartwell67,799-1.6%
24 Te Awamutu65,937-4%
23 Raglan60,022-0.6%
26 Bremworth / Temple View56,771-5.5%
20 Cambridge49,285-4.7%
15 Ruakura47,181-7.8%
21 Northern Connector 45,6111.7%
22 Morrinsville/Paeroa27,886-1.9%
Cathedral Cove, Hahei27,000
Taupo24,912
Special events20,47137.4%
4N Flagstaff North16,771
29 Hamilton Gardens10,91610.3%
South Waikato Urban Connector2,232
30 Northerner4,176-0.1%
41 Huntly Internal service2,8291.9%
Night Rider East1,128-2.6%
Night Rider West583-4.7%

Overcrowding

Patronage varies greatly, with all seats taken on the Orbiter at rush hours and over 60% full on the Northern Connector, Raglan and Silverdale routes. However, a dozen routes have less than a quarter of seats taken in an average rush hour. Over 1,300 buses were full to capacity in 2015/16, 482 of them on the Orbiter route. This has provoked complaints, particularly concerning the infrequent Raglan bus, which was fully loaded 22 times in 2015/16.

Infrastructure

Transport Centre

Most of Waikato's buses start and end their journeys at the Transport Centre on the corner of Anglesea St and Bryce St, formerly the Ellis and Burnand timber yard. The shows 27 stops in and around it. As well as bus stops and shelters, it has toilets, a cafe, an information counter and a booking office. It opened in 2001 and was designed by Worley Architects. Prior to that the Transport Centre was the name later given to the late 1960s bus station on the other side of Bryce St, which was linked by a ramp to the underground station at Hamilton Central. That site and the current centre and neighbouring properties are now included in Development Site 4 in the City's local area plan. In earlier years buses had several terminals, including Frankton Junction and Garden Place.
GoBus in 2017

Bicycle racks

The camber of Bryce St at the exit from the Centre has been a reason for Hamilton being the largest city in the country not to carry bicycles on any of its public transport. The entrance has been modified to avoid buses gouging the tar seal on Bryce St, but there is still little clearance to allow for bike racks. This probably explains why a 2011 policy to "investigate the feasibility of bikes on buses in the Waikato region" is not in the 2015 Plan. Cycle racks are on Huntly, Paeroa and Raglan buses from 18 April 2017, Cambridge buses from late 2017 and Te Awamutu from late 2018. A Regional Council agenda recommended its Regional Public Transport Plan 2018 - 2028 should not provide for bike racks on Hamilton buses.

Wheelchair accessible buses

In 2014 $4 million spent on 10 low-floor MAN buses made the Hamilton fleet fully wheelchair accessible. A Total Mobility subsidised taxi scheme also operates in Hamilton, Taupo and Tokoroa. Local mobility schemes exist in Huntly, Raglan, Coromandel, Thames, Tairua, Whitianga, Paeroa, Morrinsville, Te Aroha, Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Tokoroa, Putāruru, Tīrau, and Te Kuiti.

Information technology

A smartcard marketed as a BusIt Card was introduced in 2003. It gives roughly a 30% discount. About 40,000 are in use. Cards cost $5.
In 2017/18 solar-powered, real-time arrival information boards were installed at 5 bus stops and CCTV and wifi on buses. The Transit app was introduced in 2017, allowing mobile phone users to track buses and plan journeys.

Funding

When fares were increased by 12½% and buses after 6pm and all Sunday services were ended in 1971, Buses Ltd claimed to be losing about $26,000 a year. The options then mooted were tax cuts, or local or national subsidy.
Under the Public Transport Management Act 2008 regional councils can manage bus and ferry services within their regions. Since 2013 this has been under the Public Transport Operating Model. Just over a third of operating costs come from fares.
A Passenger Transport Rate was first levied in Hamilton in 1994. In 1996 it collected $1.033m, in 1997 $1.077m, in 1998 $1.187m, in 1999 $1.275m, $1.278m in 2001, in 2001 $1.453m, in 2002 $1.519m, in 2005 $3,626m, in 2007 $5.503m, and $6.237m in 2008. By 2003 only 3 of 33 routes ran without subsidy. Fare revenue was $3.606m in 2007 and, after a fare increase, $4.178m in 2008. Contracted services cost $2.199m in 1995, $2.255m in 1996, $2.798m in 1997, $3.042m in 1999, and was estimated at about $20m a year in the 2015-2025 Plan. In 2016/17 total funding was $23,34m. In 2019/20 public transport made up 4% of regional government spending on transport, less than half the 11% being spent on the Waikato Expressway. $22.4m went to bus services, $17.8m of that in Hamilton, $4m for buses from rural towns to Hamilton and $0.6m for buses in Thames, Tokoroa and Taupo.
A Regional Petrol Tax, levied in Hamilton, supported public transport from 1992 to 1996. A plan to reintroduce the tax was dropped in 2009, leading to a fare increase and shelving of improvements planned for increased hours, an Eastern Loop and a Rototuna Dial a Ride. The tax was also levied from 1971 to 1974.

Staffing

In December 2016, it was reported that Pavlovich Coachlines passengers would receive free rides due to a worker protest.
In October 2017 First Union presented a petition to Regional Council asking for contracts with bus companies to include a requirement to pay a living wage. It was reported that some drivers were being paid the minimum wage.File:Hamilton Orbiter buses.jpg|thumb|2009 39-seat BCI Orbiter buses at The Base, showing passenger information system on left, introduced in 2005