On Board with Orbus - July 2023

📢Welcome to our July edition, which includes all you need to know about getting FREE bus trips to football matches in Dunedin, plus a Queenstown update.

If you have any feedback on what you'd like to include, please email comms@orc.govt.nz.

Free world cup bus trips kick off in Dunedin

The Otago Regional Council is providing free travel for ticket holders on buses to support fans getting to games at the largest women’s sporting event to come to New Zealand.

Fans travelling to football matches on any bus service must show their match tickets to the driver to get free travel - valid for two hours before and two hours after the match.

The brightly wrapped double-decker bus taking fans between the Octagon and stadium.

Fans are also urged to try out the free, dedicated double-decker bus which will run between the Octagon and Dunedin Stadium (Forth Street terminus). The brightly wrapped bus will run every 30 minutes to take ticket holders and accredited staff to the games. Tickets must be shown to the driver.

In addition to buses provided by ORC, the Dunedin City Council is supplying free buses from park-and-ride options at the Victoria Road Carpark in St Kilda and at the Peter Johnstone Park carpark in Mosgiel.

These free buses will loop between these carparks and the stadium (Forth Street terminus), from two hours before kick-off and will return you after the match ends. 

You can find all the details here.

Big delays to buses due to roadworks and peak travel

⚠️ Heads up passengers - there are 15–20-minute delays to buses during peak times in both Dunedin and Queenstown. To find out if your bus is cancelled or delayed, go to: www.orc.govt.nz/public-transport.

A free phone number is also available:

Phone 0800 672 8736 for Dunedin information.
Phone 0800 672 8778 for Queenstown information.

Not sure about your bus fare? Check out our nifty fare finder!

There’s a lot happening with fares, so we’ve designed a nifty Fare Finder to help you find the fares for you and your whānau. Simply select your age group and options to see which bus fare option could be applied to you or someone you know.

Use our Fare Finder now.

New bus trip for students living in the Green Island area

Good news for students going to Otago Boys' High School, Otago Girls' High School, Trinity Catholic College, and Balmacewen Intermediate School from the Green Island area! 

Map showing the new Route 39 bus service for students living in the Green Island area.

Route 39 began this term during school days (Monday to Friday), starting at 7:40 am from the Green Island Super Stop. It will go all the way to 21 Arthur Street – opposite Otago Boys’ High School.

Going home from Otago Boys’ to Green Island in the afternoons is just as easy!

From 3:10 pm, take Route 39 from Arthur Street opposite the school and arrive at the Green Island Super Stop at 3:33 pm.

Know students going to Balmacewen Intermediate School?

In the mornings the Route 39 driver can also drop Balmacewen school students at the Taieri Road, Nairn Street stop at 8:00 am and they can catch Route 33 to Balmacewen School from Taieri Rd 117 at 8:10 am.

Note that students need to cross the road to get to the Route 33 (to Wakari) bus stop. The Route 33 bus arrives at the bus stop at 8:10 am.

In the afternoons, the Route 33 (to Corstorphine) driver can drop all Balmacewen students at the Taieri Rd, Nairn Street Stop at 3:10 pm. The students can cross the road to catch Route 39 from Taieri Rd 117 stop at 3:15pm.

Work continues on Queenstown Public Transport business case

We are continuing to work on a business case about how public transport could evolve over the next 15-plus years.

We are leading this work in partnership with our Way to Go partners and co-funders of the service, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency (WK).  

To develop this case for change, ORC will be consulting with the community.

We will have more updates about this in our next newsletter. In the meantime, you can find more information on the Queenstown Public Transport business case (QTPTBC) here.