Waikato bus and train passengers are being urged to get ready for the Government’s new Community Connect initiative ahead of the July rollout in the region.

Waikato Regional Council and a consortium of councils around New Zealand have been working on the implementation of the initiative with their ticketing system provider and expect to be able to offer the discounts from 1 July.

Waikato Regional Council’s public transport manager Trudi Knight said: “Already we’ve seen an exciting increase in region-wide bus service patronage. Numbers are exceeding pre-pandemic levels, with 834,000 boardings in the first quarter of this year compared with 790,000 for the same period in 2019.

“Community Connect will encourage increased use of public transport, which in turn will become habit-forming for younger people. It will also improve transport equity and health outcomes, and reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions,” Ms Knight said.

The initiative, announced by the Government in its Budget 2023, replaces half price fares from 1 July and will entitle the following groups to free or subsidised travel:

• Free for children aged under 13 years.
• Half price for 13-24 year olds.
• Half price for Community Services card holders.

For the discounts to be available, people will need to have a registered Bee Card that has their new concessions loaded.

In the Waikato region, 167,900 Bee Cards have been issued, with 65 per cent of them registered.

“For those people already with a registered Bee Card, the only action might be to check their date of birth is included in their profile,” Ms Knight said.

“We know there are others with an unregistered Bee Card, and many parents who will need to order Bee Cards for each of their children aged five and over to get the free and discounted travel when they tag on and off each trip.”

People can apply for a Bee Card and register for Community Connect concessions at busit.co.nz/beecard

Community Connect is funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and facilitated by Waikato Regional Council, with its public transport operators: Go Bus (Hamilton routes), Tranzit (Waikato regional routes) and KiwiRail (Te Huia).

Children aged under five won’t require a Bee Card to access free travel. SuperGold Card holders will continue to travel for free on all Waikato bus and train services when the concession is loaded to their Bee Card, and Total Mobility will continue to be half price. An accessibility concession enabling free travel will also continue to be available for eligible people residing in the Waikato region when the concession is loaded to their Bee Card.

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