Celebrations to mark start of Omapere-to-Kaikohe bus service

The first trip in a new regular bus service from Omapere will get a right civic welcome from the Far North District Council when it arrives in Kaikohe.

The first trip in a new regular bus service from Omapere will get a right civic welcome from the Far North District Council when it arrives in Kaikohe.

A 15-week trial of a twice weekly service between Omapere and Kaikohe starts today, with the organisers hoping for enough passengers to keep the wheels on the bus going round and round. To celebrate, the inaugural trip will pull up outside the district council offices for a small reception.

The much-needed passenger service is the result of work by the Opononi/Omapere Ratepayers' Association and the Northland Regional Council(NRC, the latter bankrolling the scheme.

The bus will leave Omapere at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, arriving in Kaikohe at 10.30am, and leave Kaikohe on the return trip at 1.30pm.

"We might end up tweaking it but that's the schedule at the moment. It gives people three hours in Kaikohe," the ratepayers' association chairman, Peter Oldham, said.

"It's a necessary community service. We haven't had a dedicated bus timetable between Omapere and Kaikohe for possibly 10 years. We're an isolated and scattered rural community. There are many older people who can't or won't drive, and others who haven't got transport.

"If we're not getting the passengers, we might review whether we need a twice weekly run. The first thing, though, is to get the passengers on board."

People can hop on along the route but if the bus needs to detour to Rawene to pick up people off the ferry, those passengers must pre-book first through the local I-Site, Mr Oldham says. He advises anyone along the route to book first, to ensure a seat.

The arrival in Kaikohe is timed to connect with the shuttle to Kawakawa to meet the mainline bus.

The association received more than 500 replies to a survey carried out on whether people would regularly use a local bus service, with over 50 per cent saying they would.

Pete Clark, of Hokianga Express, will provide and drive the bus under an NRC contract. The fare will be $20 return or $15 one way, regardless of where people get on along the way.