Twin City Discovery Route 'loses one leg' as bus stops

Hokianga is to lose its only public passenger road transport link to the outside world next week when the Intercity Coachlines service through the area ceases on Saturday.

No further scheduled bus service also means the heavily promoted Twin Coast Discovery Route will have one leg missing for visitors and tourists relying on public transport.

Lack of passenger numbers on the West Coast run, especially at this time of year, are blamed for its demise.

The private bus operator contracted to Intercity Coachlines to provide the service for more than four years, Clive Burnett, of Paihia, said he had been subsidising the run by $2000 to $3000 a month out of his reserves for the past year. "We've been hoping it would come right but it didn't," he said.

Mr Burnett, who has two buses, ran a three-day-a-week, each-way bus service through Hokianga, the Waipoua Forest and Dargaville out to Brynderwyn on State Highway 1 where his passengers linked to the main Intercity route between Whangarei and Auckland.

He was recently averaging only three or four passengers on a 43-seater bus. He now plans to start a Dargaville-Whangarei commuter service after this weekend.

Hokianga Tourism Association chairman Mike Lough said travellers who did not have cars frequently used the Intercity run.

"There aren't many passengers in winter, I agree, but Intercity promotes the circular Twin Coast Discovery Route and now they're going to have one leg missing," Mr Lough said.

Malcolm Johns, Intercity Coachlines acting chief executive, agreed that passenger numbers did not warrant Mr Burnett continuing his contracted service.