Whanganui and Manawatū bus users enjoying new Connect bus services

Horizons Regional Council manager transport services Mark Read says the Feilding redesign extended operating hours and frequency of the urban Orbiter service within the township and enhanced the Feilding – Palmerston North connector service.

“The network is now fully electric, with services operating on weekends and later into the day. This makes travelling around and beyond Feilding even easier – and cleaner for the environment,” he says.

Two months in, patronage has already seen significant growth, says Mr Read.

“The network launched on July 4 and ran fares-free for the first two weeks of operation to encourage passengers to give the refreshed services a try.

“We recorded 10,507 passenger trips in July 2026, compared to 7,567 passenger trips in July 2025. This marks a 38% overall increase.

“The two weeks following the fares free period saw 6,591 trips, which was only about 1,000 shy of the entire patronage for July 2025. This is a great result,” he says.

“Manawatū bus users are particularly enjoying the new weekend service hours, which saw a 173% increase in passenger trips from July 2025 to July 2026 (335 trips in July 2025 to 916 trips in July 2026).”

Mr Read says the changes to the Whanganui urban network introduced a simpler, higher-frequency system aimed at improving patronage, coverage and ease-of-use.

“Patronage on the new Whanganui network increased by 48% from April to August 2026, compared to the same period in 2025 (83,010 passenger trips from April to August 2025, and 123,029 passenger trips from April to August 2026).

“Similarly to Feilding, the first month of the Whanganui network was operated fares-free.

“If we ignore the free period and measure the patronage data from May to August, we see an increase of 51% when compared to the same period in 2025. 

“These results tell us people will use public transport if the networks are designed to meet their needs.”

Horizons Passenger Transport Committee chair Jono Naylor says council acknowledges the impact the new services have had on rates.

“We’ve heard from a lot of ratepayers, particularly in areas with increased levels of service, about the impact these service changes have had on their rates.

Cr Naylor says council understands any rates increase must carefully balance cost and value.

“We know the cost of living is high, and that people are feeling it.

“Council collected and considered feedback from the Whanganui community about the previous bus network, which was not fit-for-purpose. Patronage was stagnant, and most trips were concentrated on the single high-frequency service Te Ngaru – The Tide.

“Feedback collected via multiple rounds of consultation showed a strong desire from the Whanganui community for more high-frequency services and better coverage, and Council saw this as an important activity to invest in for the district.

“We have worked hard to strike the balance between value to ratepayers and a level of service which meets community expectations and needs.”

Mr Read says small tweaks are coming to the Whanganui network before the end of 2026 to streamline operations.

“These are only small changes, like fine tuning route timings to enable more efficient operation and more seamless transfers between services for passengers. 

“Small tweaks like these make the network even more efficient, accurate and reliable not only for passengers but for drivers too.

“These kinds of tweaks are often done once a network is in place and running for some time, and so are not unexpected.”

Mr Read says consultation is currently taking place to ask Horowhenua residents their thoughts on public transport services in the district.

“We’re currently asking people what they want from bus services in Horowhenua, alongside Horowhenua District Council.