Orbus will be the the name of our Dunedin bus service from the time that the Central City Bus Hub goes into service. The name very simply combines ‘Otago region’ with ‘bus’.

The new name and identity was first introduced in 2017, with the launch of our Queenstown bus service. As we’ve come closer towards the completion of the Bus Hub, we’ve been working with our bus operators to brand the fleet. More buses will be branded over time.

As the Bus Hub opens and services adjust to roll through the hub, we’ll be using the name Orbus Dunedin for our service.

Why brand the service?

The Bus Hub is an important piece of the puzzle for network changes we’ve been making over several years. With the hub in place, our service will have completed a major transition that’s made routes more direct, the network more connected, and bus services more frequent. Naming the service recognises this shift – to a bus service that’s now much more user-friendly.

There’s other good reasons to give the service a name too. In Dunedin we don’t currently have a straightforward way to refer to our bus services. This sometimes leads to confusion…does the DCC run the buses? Does ORC run the buses? What about GoBus and Ritchies? Are school buses part of the public transport service? By bringing the service under one unified brand we hope to make it easier for people to identify the public bus service, and, importantly, to know where to go for information.

Watch this space.