In the eastern half of the network, we continue to make improvements to get things running as well possible.
New Waikaia route
The new route is in operation and running from Waikaia through Longridge to Lumsden. This route travels through the Wendonside area and can be adjusted to suit new families living in that area. This is a great option for families that have not historically been able to access a service to the nearest College.
East 1 AM
Introducing the new route has allowed us to move back the start time for the East 1 service to 7.50am., commencing 19 February.
This route has been modified slightly to travel through the area south of St Patricks. This means a change of buses for the Bullmore and Vega families in the afternoon only. Route times for this service will be reviewed next week.
We have been concerned about the late finish times for families living along Waimea Valley Road. With the introduction of the new bus route we have been able to shuffle students around, and now the East 2 PM route will no longer need to come into Balfour. This will result in an earlier finish for East 2 PM – please keep an eye on the EasyBus site for changes to route times beginning 19 February. Some slight timing changes may happen later next week as we monitor the GPS information.
NSC students living in Balfour township
NSC students living in Balfour township were previously split between the East 1 and East 2 routes. From Monday 19 February they will all travel on the East 1 service.
Balfour students coming from the Riversdale transport zone
Many thanks to the Balfour parents who took the time to email or call with suggestions on how to make these pickups points safer. There are now two pickup points for students coming from out of the Riversdale transport zone:
- corner of Terrace and SH94 – this is the best spot for families coming out of Riversdale
- 1669 Mandeville-Kingston Crossing Road – this is the best spot for families on Mandeville-KC Road. McAlister Road and Dunn and Cody Road.
A reminder that families are not allowed to board within the Riversdale zone without permission from Riversdale School. Breaking this rule could result in the network having our transport funding cut, and our bus routes would return to Ministry control. This would be a bad result for everybody; the Ministry’s bus route designs are much less generous than the ones we have today.