Intercity buses return

Passengers depart and board the bus from the new InterCity Bus stop at Moray Pl in 2019. PHOTO...
Passengers depart and board the bus from the new InterCity Bus stop at Moray Pl in 2019. PHOTO PETER MCINTOSH
Intercity restarted suspended services across the South Island over the weekend.

The bus company cancelled 3500 tickets in May, saying it would not run services until the end of that month, after closing for the Alert Level 4 lockdown.

At the time, it said it could not afford to operate under physical distancing rules.

The services that began provided connections between Nelson and Queenstown, as well as Christchurch to Queenstown.

Those routes had been suspended since the lockdown.

Intercity chief executive John Thorburn said the company was excited to resume services and reconnect communities.

"These new services had relied heavily on international visitors to make them viable and thanks to ... discussions with the Ministry of Transport about providing financial support, we have decided to restart services."

Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson was pleased to see the services back on West Coast roads.

"It’s great to have InterCity back in the region. These services provide an important economic role in connecting our communities along the West Coast."

The new services will operate on a reduced four-day-a-week schedule.

InterCity expects to announce the restart of more suspended services in the coming weeks.


 

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