Half price fares until 30 June 2023

As part of a nationwide programme, bus fares are half price until the end of June 2023, including Orbus in Queenstown and Dunedin.

That means, our buses will be in demand. 

Please plan for full buses and be flexible with your timing. Some people need to catch a bus at a set time, so if you don't need to, or you can travel outside of peak times (graph below), please do so.  
 
Being flexible helps those who cannot move their travel times (for instance, nurses, shift workers, students and retail and hospitality workers) more chance to get to their destination.  

Find out more about fares and frequently asked questions below. 

 

Fares

Fares for Dunedin 

Normal 

Half price 

Bee Card Adult 

$2 

$1 

Bee Card Child (register your card for the 5-18 yr old concession) 

$1.20 

$0.60 

Child under 5 years of age

Free 

 

CASH Adult and child  

$3 

$1.50 

Supergolds – Adult fares and half price fares apply as above. Your concession is still valid. 

Bee cards are available to buy on the bus (CASH only) or at retailers.  
They cost $5. Click here for information on where to buy and how to top up. 

 

Supergold card users

With the introduction of half price fares, Supergold card users may be wondering what this means for them. Fares are still free for Supergold passengers on weekdays in off-peak times – between 9am and 3pm; after 6.30pm; all day during weekends and public holidays.

Any trips outside these times will be $1 with your card and $1.50 if paying by cash.

Remember you can top up your card by paying cash to your driver, or on the 2nd floor of Otago Regional Council in Philip Laing House and at the DCC customer services desk. Don’t forget to tag on and tag off!

Fares for Queenstown 

Normal 

Half price 

Bee Card Adult 

$2 

$1 

Bee Card Child (register your card for the 5-18 yr old concession) 

$1.50 

$0.75 

Child under 5 years of age

Free

 

CASH Adult and child  

$4 

$2.00 

Ferry single fare*

$10

$5

Supergolds – Adult fares and half price fares apply as above. Your concession is still valid.  

Note: fares differ for the airport to/from Queenstown: normal fares are Adult $10, Youth $8, so half price fares are Adults $5 and Youth $4. 

Bee cards are available to buy on the bus (CASH only) or at retailers.  
They cost $5. Click here for information on where to buy and how to top up. 

*Pay on board the ferry with card payment only. Concession cards for the ferry are not valid April, May, June.

 

Useful information 

  • You don’t need a Bee Card to take the bus, but it is cheaper when you have one. 
  • Click here to find out more about the Bee Card including where to buy a card. 
    • You can buy a card on the bus with CASH only.
    • The cost of a Bee Card is $5. You need to top up with a minimum $5. 
  • A child under 5 years of age travels free.
  • If tagging on with a Bee Card, you must tag off. 
  • First time bus users, click here for the Bus 101. 

 

The graph shows peak time travel periods for Dunedin and Queenstown. Peak travel times (morning 7.30 – 9 am) and afternoon (2.45 – 5.30 pm). 

 

Frequenty Asked Questions

Orbus Peak Travel

You don’t have to do anything if you're an everyday bus user – the half price fare will be automatically applied when tagging on and off. If paying with Cash on the bus, your driver will apply the discount. 

If you're new to Orbus and the Bee Card, find out more here with the Bus 101

Central Government has made the decision to reduce fares on public transport by 50%. The duration of this scheme will end on 30 June 2023. Unless further decisions are made by central government, it is expected that regions will return to their normal fare prices and structures from 1 July 2023. Otago is currently running a flat fare trial of $2, at the end of this trial, there may be changes to the fares, but more detail will be available on this once the trial comes to an end. 

Check the timetable at www.orc.govt.nz/Orbus or Transit app to see when the next bus will be along.

Our buses are already pretty full during peak travel times (morning 7.30 – 9 am) and afternoon (2.45 – 5.30 pm). We are asking people to travel off peak which is during the middle of the day or the evening if they can. 

We are trying to manage capacity, but because of driver shortages (exacerbated by COVID), we cannot supply additional buses on busy routes. We are asking people to travel off peak if they can so that those who have fixed hours to get to work/school will get there.  

Let us know which route you are on, so that we can try to respond to feedback.

Click here for contacts

We're trying to make disruptions easier for you to manage, so we’ve improved the website that publishes alerts for our services. This is your most reliable source. Check your route every day to plan better here.
1. Go to the public transport page on ORC website
2. Click on Notifications and Alerts
3. Select Dunedin or Queenstown
4. Choose your route number
5. Your route will be remembered next time you go back to the page 😎
We’re also available 24/7 on 0800 ORBUSDN (0800 672 8736) 0800 ORBUSQT (0800 672 8778).

Yes. The driver will keep an eye on capacity.

Since the government announced half price fares, our team has been working to make this happen. The setting of fares is the responsibility of Public Transport Authorities like the ORC. For such a significant change, it has to be presented and endorsed by our council (this happened nationwide across councils), which we have done. We have then been sorting out ticketing, finances and capacity/demand. Nevertheless, we are limited with drivers and buses for a variety of reasons, including recent additions to support school students who previously used Otago Road Services.   

We are letting people know that our buses are already pretty full and, because of Covid and a national driver shortage, we can’t currently provide any extra services

Yes, Total Mobility journeys are also included and will have the additional discount applied on top of the current subsidy.

Fares are still free for Supergold passengers on weekdays in off-peak times – between 9am and 3pm; after 6.30pm; all day during weekends and public holidays.

Any trips outside these times will be $1 with your card and $1.50 if paying by cash.

Remember you can top up your card by paying cash to your driver, or on the 2nd floor of Otago Regional Council in Philip Laing House and at the DCC customer services desk.

Don’t forget to tag on and tag off!

Stay up to date 

www.facebook.com/OrbusQT

www.facebook.com/OrbusDN

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