ORC’s Manager Transport Lorraine Cheyne thanked the public for their patience and acknowledged the frustration felt by some passengers.

“We’re very pleased to be able to resume the full bike rack service in Dunedin initially and in Queenstown from the beginning of May as all modifications to buses are completed,” she says.

“Our teams and operators have been working hard to get recent changes implemented,” she says.

In Dunedin

The use of bikes racks in Dunedin will resume day and night (24/7) from 6am, Saturday 19 April.

In Queenstown

The use of bike racks in Queenstown will resume during the day from 7am-6pm, from Friday 18 April. Night use will resume from early May, after all the Queenstown buses have been modified and are compliant with Land Transport rules.

Background

The temporary night-time restriction on the use of bike racks on Dunedin and Queenstown buses started on 2 November, after NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) issued a safety notice. 

 At the time Ms Cheyne said the safety notice has brought to our attention that carrying bikes at night can potentially obscure headlamps on some bus models. 

Although only some bus models were affected, Ms Cheyne said ORC had to restrict the use of bike racks on all buses, day and night, to ensure the buses carrying bikes still complied with the Land Transport rule on vehicle lighting. 

She highlighted the NZTA directive was all about public safety.