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Fare Information

In the Horizons region, fares are calculated by the number of zones you travel through on your journey.

Taihape-Palmerston North is priced as a four-zone trip, despite travelling in five zones. This is to ensure it is the same price as Taihape-Whanganui (a four-zone trip), as they operate along similar distances.

Bunnythorpe sits on the border of two zones. If you travel between Feilding and Bunnythorpe, or Palmerston North and Bunnythorpe, it is a one-zone trip. But a Palmerston North-Feilding trip is a two-zone trip.

Fares - As of 1 May 2024

Zones travelled	Standard Fare (Bee Card)	Under 5’s & SuperGold (9:00-3:00pm & after 6:30pm)*	Community Connect Concession (With Bee Card)	Concession Fare (With Bee Card)	Cash
1	$2	Free	$1	$1.20	$3.00
2	$3.50	Free	$1.75	$2.40	$4.50
3	$5.00	Free	$2.50	$3.60	$6.00
4	$6.50	Free	$3.25	$4.80	$7.50

*SuperGold Free Concession applies 9am-3pm and after 6.30pm Monday-Friday, and all day on weekends and public holidays. Otherwise, SuperGold Card holders must pay the Fare with concession price (with Bee Card) or Adult price (with cash).

Bee Cards

The Bee card is the cheapest way to travel in the region. Using a registered Bee Card means that you are eligible for fare capping and concession prices if you meet the criteria.

To use a Bee Card, simply tag-on when you board, and tag-off when you get off the bus. The system will automatically calculate your fare, and will deduct it from your card balance. If you do not tag off the bus, you will be charged the cash price for the total number of zones your bus will travel through on the trip.

To order a Bee Card, Check Balance, or order a replacement Bee Card, visit beecard.co.nz. For Bee Card queries, please email beecard@horizons.govt.nz, or phone 0508 800 800 and one of our customer services team will be able to assist.

Concessions

We offer concessions to make public transport more affordable for some groups.

Community Service Card Holders – Community Connect Concession
Child (5-18 Inclusive)
Senior (65+)
Disability
Tertiary Student

Additionally, some Tertiary institutes provide free travel for their staff and students. These are set-up by area.
Massey University: Free in Palmerston North & Ashhurst
IPU New Zealand: Free in Palmerston North & Ashhurst
ETC: Free in Palmerston North & Ashhurst
UCOL: Free in Palmerston North, Ashhurst, Feilding, Whanganui, and Whanganui to Palmerston North Commuter.

You may need a Bee Card to get your free travel, depending on the institute. Please enquire at your tertiary provider to determine if you need a Bee Card.

Fare capping

Regular users travel cheaper with weekly fare caps.

If you pay with a registered Bee Card, your travel becomes free once you hit a certain spend each week (Monday – Sunday). Simply tag on and off with your Bee Card as you would normally. Once you’ve hit the fare cap for that week, the rest of your trips will be free until the week resets on Monday.

ZONES	FARE	TRIPS EACH WEEK BEFORE CAP	MAX SPEND EACH WEEK
1	$2	8	$16.00
2	$3.50	7	$24.50
3	$5	6	$30.00
4	$6.50	6	$39.00

If you hit your cap for trips through many zones, then you will get free travel for smaller trips. For example, someone commuting daily between Palmerston North and Whanganui for work (a four-zone trip) during the week will end up getting free travel on Te Ngaru The Tide in Whanganui (a one-zone trip) or on Palmerston North’s fully electric network (a one-zone trip) from Wednesday evening each week.

Fare capping is based on an individual's travel, activated by tagging on and off. You can still pay for other people's travel with your Bee Card, but this won't get you to your capping limit faster. Since the fare cap is based off the amount you spend in a week, transferring doesn’t count towards your trips per week.

Fare capping also applies to concessions, and the maximum weekly spend is adjusted to reflect the fare paid.

You must use a registered Bee Card for your trips if you wish to take advantage of fare capping, as this ensures we have a reliable way to log trips each week.

Transfers

Free transfers are available across all services within the region. This includes free transfers onto urban buses from regional routes.

As long as you are catching the second service within an hour of catching the first one, the transfer is free. If you use a Bee Card, this process is automatic – just tag on when you get onto your second service. You will be charged the fare for the most expensive of the two services.

Changes to Community Connect

Due to funding changes from central government, changes are coming to the Community Connect Scheme from 1 May 2024, While there will still be half price fares for Community Services Card holders and half price concessions for Total Mobilty users, funding for free fares for those age 5 - 12 and half price fares for those aged 13 - 24 will end.