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13 August 2025, 1:52 pm
Horizons Regional Council has presented a proposed new design for the Whanganui urban bus network and is asking the community to share their thoughts on it between 11 August and 8 September 2025.
Mark Read, Horizons manager transport services, says Council has been looking at how it can improve routes, schedules and services to make it easier and more convenient to get around Whanganui. "Earlier this year, we asked for feedback on three options to improve the network. This feedback helped us settle on a proposed design that reflects the community's current and future needs, and strikes a balance between affordability and supporting the city's growth. "Before we begin planning and implementing the new network, we want to check in with the community again to make sure we've got it right,” says Mr Read. The proposed network includes two high-frequency routes running every 20 minutes and three routes running every hour. Buses would run seven days a week, with services extending to Pūtiki and higher frequency further into Aramoho and Castlecliff. "The new routes would mean some changes to bus stop locations across the city. Stops that aren't on proposed routes would be removed, alongside others that are on the routes but are considered surplus to requirements given their close proximity to nearby, higher-usage stops," says Mr Read. "In parts of the city, for example, we have three or four bus stops within a 200-300m stretch. Removing some of these stops would help to ensure services can meet the higher frequency the community called for in their feedback earlier this year. "We're providing people with different ways to see the proposed bus stop locations, including an online interactive map. We want to hear from anyone who has concerns about a proposed location for bus stop installation or removal. “Horizons will continue to look into the spacing between bus stop locations across the network after this consultation phase ends, which could result in more proposed removals or relocations,” says Mr Read. "The purpose of this review is to develop a network that enables higher frequency while also increasing overall coverage. Rest assured, however, that we’ll be engaging with anyone impacted by further proposals before going ahead with them.” The increased connectivity and higher frequency services across more of the city would also mean specific public school services – the 220, 221, 222, 223, 207x and 224 services – are no longer required. Horizons Public Transport Committee chair Sam Ferguson says the proposed new network would make it just as easy for students to get to school and give them more flexibility at the end of the day. "Whether they need to get home straight after school, or a little later after sports practice or music lessons, the proposed network would provide young people and their families with more transport options," says Mr Ferguson. "It's also important to note there would be no changes to Ministry of Education services, which are separate from the urban services provided by Horizons." Mr Read says the new network will take time to implement. "After this consultation, we'll use the feedback received to guide any adjustments or tweaks to the proposed network design, and begin planning for implementation. After that, we must agree on a contract variation with our operator, who'll need time to organise their drivers and buses to meet the new requirements. Changes are likely to come into effect in April 2026." People can find out more and share their thoughts on the Horizons consultation website: https://haveyoursay.horizons.govt.nz/whanganuionthemove For more information about public transport in the Horizons Region, head to https://www.horizons.govt.nz/buses-transport or follow Connect - Horizons Regional Transport on Instagram and Facebook.