The Otago Regional Council’s Transport Manager Lorraine Cheyne says the safety notice has brought to ORC’s attention that carrying bikes at night can potentially obscure headlamps on some bus models.

“Although only some bus models may be affected, we will be restricting the use of bike racks on all buses at night while we ensure buses carrying bikes still comply with the Land Transport rule on vehicle lighting,” Ms Cheyne says.

The hours of the restriction will be from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise on the next day. For November, the bike rack restriction will be in place from 8.29pm to 6.14am for Dunedin, and from 8.34pm to 6.24am in Queenstown. Restriction times for the months up to and including March 2025 can be viewed on our "How to catch a bus" page. People who use bike racks should check this information each month for updates.

“This directive from NZTA is all about public safety. While we haven’t encountered any issues with the visibility of our headlights before, we want to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our customers, drivers and the public safe,” Ms Cheyne says. 

“We ask that our customers travelling with bikes respect this new rule and ensure they board and disembark with their bikes during daylight hours. Staff will work with NZTA and operators to resolve matters soon.

“We thank our passengers for their understanding as we work to get this sorted. We will provide further information as it becomes available, and we’ve asked our drivers to remind customers of this new rule. Please remember that our drivers are just doing their jobs and trying their best to keep everyone safe." 

This is a nationwide safety notice that applies to all buses with front fitted bike racks.

For more information see: