Now that Dunedin’s cruise ship season is under way, the Otago Regional Council is providing extra buses to help cover increased demand for services to and from Port Chalmers at peak times.
ORC public and active transport committee co-chairman Cr Andrew Noone said 94 cruise ships are scheduled for this season, 81 at Port Chalmers and 13 at Dunedin’s wharves. It will be less busy than last season, when 118 ships visited.
"We’ll be doing the same things we did last season to make sure there’s room for local passengers on the Port Chalmers route 14 bus" Cr Noone said.
Extra bus trips will run on 44 days throughout the season. On these days, extra services will run during morning and afternoon "peak times’’, meaning buses will run every 15 minutes on weekdays; or every 30 minutes on weekends.
A retail booth will again sell bus tickets to cruise passengers from the Port Chalmers Library.
While cruise passengers are encouraged to use the private buses offered by their ships, many choose to take the public bus service.
This season, the central city drop off and pick up point for cruise ship passengers on the Port Chalmers bus will again be outside Centre City New World in Cumberland St.
