The cut-off date for public submissions on the controversial restructuring of Tauranga's BayHopper and SchoolHopper bus services has been extended by a week.
Instead of submissions closing today the council has bowed to pressure from hundreds of parents dismayed by plans to axe most of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Schoolhopper services.
Council public transport committee chairman Lyall Thurston announced the extension to next Tuesday, saying that if large numbers of people wanted to present their submissions in person then the council would consider a hearing.
He said the council wanted to make the right decision and nothing had been set in stone. "It is a question of getting the consultation right and seeing what we can do."
The plan to axe most Schoolhopper services and put students on to Bayhopper public buses coincided with proposed improvements to the BayHopper service, including more regular buses and shorter travel times.