A trial of on-demand public transport in Timaru will go ahead early in 2020 following today’s confirmation of funding by Environment Canterbury Councillors.

“We are pleased to announce that the Council has today confirmed our share of the funding required, ensuring that a full trial will go ahead next year,” says Environment Canterbury Chair Steve Lowndes.

Environment Canterbury’s Senior Manager Public Transport, Stewart Gibbon, said that the trial, also funded by NZTA, will ensure that the service is easy to use and that this new form of public transport provides greater access to the community.

“We’ve done a great deal of work in the community over the last few months and we are confident that on-demand public transport is a logical response to Timaru’s declining fixed route public transport service,” he says.

“We’re very conscious that the new service requires people to think differently about getting around. It offers so many opportunities, because rather than going where the bus route goes, you can go where you want to go, and arrive when you want to arrive.”

Timaru’s on-demand public transport will start early next year with a two-month, closed group pilot to fully test the systems.

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