Currently, Horizons estimates less than 2 per cent of the Whanganui District population are regular bus users.
Submissions also indicated people wanted more regional services in smaller areas and for better inter-regional services between neighbouring regions such as Taranaki and Hawke's Bay.
"Places like Whanganui, Taihape, and Taumaranui said we want more public transport and want to get all around the region," Tonnon said, who sat on the committee that heard the submissions.
"Our whole philosophy has changed in that we're trying to make public transport good enough so that busy people who currently use their car want to take public transport," Tonnon said.
He said in the past Horizons focused on individual bus routes that went from region to region, but there was a shift to focus on building a network.
"There is currently no public transport in the Tararua district, but maybe if we had a new service that went from Palmerston North and went to Napier, it could maybe stop in towns like Dannevirke along the way, for example."
The only current service that runs from Whanganui to Taihape only runs once a fortnight.
"Imagine if we had a bus that went from Whanganui to Hamilton and could stop in Taihape along the way," Tonnon said.
"The biggest difference is the old plan was aimed towards providing public transport for people who needed it because they couldn't use a car for whatever reason."
A Horizons survey was conducted to gain insight on Whanganui public transport barriers and opportunities to inform marketing campaigns to increase service uptake.
The survey, conducted between March 31 and May 21, received 584 responses and showed high car ownership and ease of driving created significant challenges for the uptake of public transport services.
Car was by far the most frequent current mode of transport in the district with 93 per cent indicating using their car to some extent, and 59 per cent using their car for most of their trips.
Twenty-eight per cent of people indicated using a bus in the past 12 months.
Although the convenience of a private vehicle was the most cited reason for not using bus services, bus infrequency or unavailability were also major factors for non-users.
The general likelihood of using a bus in the next 12 months was 28 per cent and mainly supported by current bus users.
Of those who used public transport, 77 per cent stated using public transport to travel to shops, 50 per cent travelled to work, 32 per cent to social destinations.
High petrol prices and environmental concerns were reasons for interest in switching from car travel to public transport.
Tonnon said the next step was for Horizons to conduct a region-wide review of services going from city to city and town to town before 2025.
"We haven't set out the terms for the review yet but we know is it's going to be very broad," Tonnon said.
To view the full Regional Public Transport Plan 2022-32 visit horizons.govt.nz, hard copies will also be available at libraries and Horizons' offices.
