The Pacific Explorer, which carries around 2000 passengers, had been expected on Friday, 24 November, but with a change in schedule due to a coastal wind forecast it is now arriving a day early.

 ORC’s Implementation Lead – Transport, Julian Phillips says “We know West Harbour residents are affected when it’s a busy cruise ship day so to help ease pressure, the ORC will again run extra bus services to and from Port Chalmers. This will help, but it will still be a very busy day and people should expect queues and wait times for buses.”

 As well as extra buses there are some other measures in place to reduce the impact for people:

 To ensure there is room for locals at later stops, all regular services are required to leave Port Chalmers with some capacity.

• Cruise passengers heading back to Port Chalmers on the public bus will be encouraged to catch it from outside Centre City New World in Cumberland Street where drivers have also been asked to leave with capacity for passengers at later stops.
• Cruise passengers are encouraged to use private buses offered by their ships, but many choose to take the public bus instead. 

People can stay up to date by downloading the Transit App, following the Orbus Dunedin Facebook page or visiting the ORC website.