“The free buses are offered on all routes throughout the city all day long on Friday 22 September as part of a Connecting Dunedin initiative,” says Manager Transport, Lorraine Cheyne.

“Passengers will not have to “tag on and off” with their Bee Cards, as machines will be deactivated for the day. Passengers will still be able to buy or top up their Bee Card,” says Ms Cheyne.

Car Free Day is an annual international event which encourages motorists to give up their vehicles for a day to try walking, cycling or taking the bus.

“This opportunity for a free trip will hopefully be a prompt for those who are still a bit bus-shy to give it a go. Our recent service improvements mean there’s a lot more opportunity to take a later bus home if you plan on staying in town after work. Check out the journey planner on the ORC website.”

“We’re already seeing more people choosing the bus. Our patronage data shows a 10% increase in Dunedin passenger numbers on the same period pre-Covid.”

“Collectively we can all help reduce air pollution, reduce carbon emissions and boost our health.”

Timetables and the journey planner can be found here.

Connecting Dunedin is a partnership between Dunedin City Council, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Otago Regional Council who are working to coordinate transport projects across the city.