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Welcome to On Board with Orbus, your source of news and information about Dunedin and Queenstown's bus network and the Bee Card 🐝🚍
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This edition features the Regional Public Transport Plan, the Park & Ride LUMA initiative in Queenstown, pets on buses, the living wage and more.
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Council approves plan
Last week, the Otago Regional Council signed off on the Regional Public Transport Plan, the strategic document that guides the planning and delivery of public transport services and infrastructure in Otago. 193 submissions were received with 38 groups and individuals speaking at hearings in Dunedin and Queenstown in June.
The focus of this 2021-2031 Plan is to improve and increase public transport with, for example, better frequency in Dunedin. The Council will review the $2 fare in Dunedin in August.
Click here to read the rest of the RPTP media release.
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Meanwhile, council approved for pets to travel on buses. They must be transported by a passenger in an enclosed carrier only on weekday services between 9am and 3pm, after 6:30pm, and all day on weekends.
There is still some detail to be worked out, and we will keep you updated, but it has made 5-year-old Willem and his sausage dog, Walter (pictured here), very happy.
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Orbus was proud to help move around 5,000 people from Queenstown Central Mall (Kmart) to LUMA over Queen's Birthday weekend, making a sizeable dent in the cars travelling to the festival in town. Thanks to LUMA Queenstown and Queenstown Central for this great park & ride initiative. See you next year!
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The living wage
The Otago Regional Council has agreed to pay for the living wage for bus drivers, and for it to be backdated to 1 July 2020.
Council Chair Andrew Noone said, “We recognise that driving buses is a challenging and at times stressful job.
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Our drivers were essential workers during lockdown, they’ve adapted to changes like the mask mandate, and we know they’ve put up with higher rates of abuse in the last year. We’re pleased to support bus drivers with today’s decisions.”Read the full statement here.
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We're moving
We are moving more of our staff to Philip Laing House, including the whole customer services function.
From 2 August, if you would like to speak to us in person about buses, rates payments and consent queries, or to top up your Bee Card, please visit us on level 2, Philip Laing House, 144 Rattray Street.
Shelby, Jody and Mia (pictured here on Pink Shirt Day) are just three of our customer experience team who you'll be able to talk to there.
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 Our Stafford Street HQ will close for public enquiries from that date onwards. The Queenstown customer service desk remains open as usual at our Frankton office.
The ORC head quarters will then be moving to the old Warehouse site, but only in two years' time. |
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The Otago Regional Council is a proud sponsor of the New Zealand International Science Festival. As well as being part of the Outside Inside Forest, we are offering free buses on some days. Keep an eye on Orbus Dunedin Facebook to see if free travel is available to you.
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Keep up to date with news, alerts and other information
on your local Orbus Facebook page - links below. |
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