Future bus services for the Waikato region

What you told us

• We heard strong support for expanding services to more towns.
• Respondents were highly interested in weekend services and regional connections.
• Your key priorities were access to medical services, support for elderly and non-drivers, and affordable travel options.

How did community feedback shape the final decisions?

• Respondents preferred extending the Thames Connector to Ngatea rather than keeping the current schedule.
• The responses confirmed removing the Paeroa leg of the Eastern Connector and redirecting savings to further extend the Thames Connector to Paeroa, ensuring a new connection between Paeroa and Thames (via Ngatea).

What’s coming

Short term

• Thames Connector (70) will be reduced from five to three return trips per day.
• But with new extensions to reach Ngatea, Kerepehi, Turua and Paeroa (two return trips per day, Monday to Friday).

Medium term

• Thames Connector (70) will return to five return trips per day.
• New weekly district services to/from Thames (once a week, two return trips per day) will begin for these places:
  • Paeroa via Ngatea, Kerepehi and Turua
  • Waihi via Paeroa
  • Whiritoa via Whangamatā
  • Whitianga via Tairua
  • Coromandel Town.

Long term

• Weekend services added to Thames Connector (Saturday and Sunday).
• Increased frequency for district routes:
  • Most towns will have three return trips per day, five days a week.
  • Whitianga and Coromandel will have two return trips per day, five days a week.

View the full report for Thames-Cormandel and Hauraki Districts

What you told us

• Reliable regional connections are essential. Respondents strongly supported more frequent services to Hamilton, especially during peak times, and for new weekend services for Matamata and Te Aroha.
• Local access matters. Respondents want improved coverage through new town loop services in Morrinsville and Matamata with stops near key destinations like supermarkets, schools and retirement villages.
• Flexibility and inclusion are key. There was interest in a Cambridge route, better accessibility for disabled users, and clearer integration with other transport modes like Te Huia.

How did community feedback shape the final decisions?

• Route changes were made to the proposed Morrinsville and Matamata town circular services to include additional key destinations.
• The interest in a Matamata to Cambridge service, which was tested as a possibility, was strong enough that we included it in our long-term plan.

What’s coming

Short term

• Eastern Connector (23):
  • We will remove the Paeroa to Te Aroha due to low usage, and we will redirect those resources to implement a Paeroa to Thames connection on the Thames Connector service instead.
  • We will extend the service to the northern end of Te Aroha for better coverage.
  • The service retains its current frequency.

Medium term

• The Morrinsville to Hamilton service will increase to every 30 minutes (peak) and hourly (off peak), with service until 9pm.
• All terminating services will loop through Morrinsville for better local access.
• The Te Aroha route will expand to cover more residential areas.

Long term

• The Matamata and Te Aroha to Hamilton services will increase to hourly (peak) and every two hours (off-peak), with evening services until 9pm.
• New Town Services:
  • Morrinsville and Matamata will each get a dedicated town loop service every 60 minutes.
  • Two daily Matamata to Hamilton trips will travel via Cambridge.
  • Weekend services will begin for Matamata and Te Aroha (three return trips per day).

View the full report for Matamata-Piako District

What you told us

• Frequency is valued, but coverage matters. Respondents support more frequent services like Comet, Orbiter, and Meteor, but raised concerns about losing direct routes and longer walking distances, especially for vulnerable users.
• School, hospital, and key destination access is critical. We received strong feedback to retain direct links to places like Waikato Hospital, University of Waikato, and Hamilton East schools, with concerns about safety and reliability at transfer points.
• Flexibility and integration are important. There was interest in on-demand services, better connections to trains and the airport, and clearer signage and real-time info to support transfers and accessibility.

How did community feedback shape the final decisions?

• The Hamilton Gardens (17) service will remain but as an express service.
• All Hamilton coverage (regular frequency) routes will have a 30-minute peak-time frequency and 60-minute off-peak frequency (note that it was proposed to be 60 minutes all day).
• All Hamilton routes will start around 6am rather than 7am as proposed to cater for early commuters and other users (note that timetables will vary slightly between routes).
• We will divert specific trips on the Dinsdale/Uni (3) service to the Frankton Train Station when the timing aligns with train services (all trips were proposed to go past the train station).

What’s coming

Short term

• We will introduce a new high-frequency service for Rototuna.
• We will upgrade the Orbiter, Comet and Meteor services to a more frequent schedule, which the new Rototuna service will also work to:
  • Weekday services run every 15 minutes from 7am to 7pm and every 30 minutes from 6am to 7am and 7pm to 11pm.
  • Weekend services run every 30 minutes before 7am, every 20 minutes from 7am to 7pm, and every 30 minutes from 7pm to 11pm.
• Simplified network:
  • We will retain the Hamilton Gardens (17) service as an express route via Hayes Paddock.
  • The Claudelands (14) and Rototuna (16) Rototuna Circular services will cease when the high-frequency Rototuna service begins.
  • We will combine the Pukete (1) and Te Rapa (18) services.
  • We will combine the Dinsdale (3) and University (13) services.
• Coverage services on all other routes will run:
  • On weekdays, every 30 minutes peak (6am to 9am, and 3pm to 6pm), and 60 minutes off peak (9am to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm)
  • On weekends, every 60 minutes (7am to 9pm).
• We are exploring on-demand services to fill coverage gaps in Hamilton. We are currently studying where and how on-demand transport could complement the 2028 fixed-route network. These services are expected to support more direct, frequent corridor-based routes by meeting localised and niche travel needs. We expect final recommendations by the end of the year.

Long term

• We plan to upgrade our rapid services, Comet, Meteor and Rototuna Frequent, to every 10 minutes from 6:30am to 7pm, and every 30 minutes from 6am to 6:30am and from 7pm to 10pm.
• We plan to introduce new high-frequency services: Northern Link and Southern Link.
• Most (but not all) coverage routes will increase frequency to 15 minutes from 6:30am to 7pm, and every 30 minutes from 6am to 6:30am and from 7pm to 10pm.
• The Orbiter would be removed and replaced with more direct services.
• We plan to add new destinations, extending to Peacocke and Hamilton Airport.

* Note: there may be slight variations to the route frequencies and/or operating hours. This information gives a general guide to how these services will look, but changes may occur on a route-by-route basis. The timings above are indicative frequencies and operating hours.*

View the full report for Hamilton City

What you told us

• Regional connectivity is vital. Respondents strongly supported maintaining and improving links between Te Kauwhata, Huntly, Hamilton and Pukekohe, especially for commuters, students and seniors.
• Access to healthcare and essential services matters. Many people rely on buses to reach medical appointments, shopping and social connections, particularly in Pukekohe and South Auckland.
• Flexibility and integration are important. We saw strong interest in better coordination with rail services (e.g. Te Huia), express routes, and potential local services in Ngāruawāhia and Hopuhopu, with calls for improved infrastructure and promotion.

How did community feedback shape the final decisions?

• Based on feedback, the #44 service will now be extended to Te Kauwhata earlier than originally planned, replacing the Te Kauwhata to Pukekohe leg of the Northern Connector.
• As a result of this change, additional Te Kauwhata to Hamilton services have been deferred to the medium term. The interest in a Pokeno to Drury service also prompted us to include it in medium-term plans.
• Feedback showed a preference for regional connectivity over local services, so no new Ngāruawāhia to Hopuhopu service is currently planned. We will keep investigating local needs through future engagement.

What’s coming

Short term

• Northern Connector (21):
  • Te Kauwhata to Pukekohe leg will cease due to low usage.
  • We will retain the Hamilton to Te Kauwhata service (three return trips per day).
  • The number of Huntly to Hamilton services will remain.
• Pokeno to Pukekohe (44):
  • We will extend this service to Te Kauwhata (via Mercer and Meremere) at 60-minute frequency (weekdays only).
  • We keep the current Pokeno to Pukekohe frequency as it is.

Medium term

• Northern Connector (22):
  • We will add two additional Te Kauwhata to Hamilton trips, morning and afternoon.
• Pokeno to Pukekohe (44):
  • We will increase this service to every 30 minutes (peak) and 60 minutes (off peak).
  • New express service from Pokeno–Drury (via SH1) will make two return trips per day during peak hours.

Long term

• Northern Connector (21):
  • Huntly to Hamilton will run every 20 minutes (peak), and 60 minutes (off-peak).
  • Te Kauwhata to Hamilton will run every 60 minutes.
• Pokeno to Pukekohe (44):
  • Pokeno to Pukekohe will run every 20 minutes (peak), and 60 minutes (off peak).
  • Te Kauwhata extension will run every 30 minutes (peak), and 60 minutes (off peak).
• Express service from Pokeno to Drury will increase to six return trips per day.

View the full report for the North Waikato region

What you told us

• Protect school connections. Respondents were strongly opposed to removing direct services to Hamilton East schools, with concerns about safety, missed connections and increased stress for students.
• Improve commuter and weekend options. Respondents supported more peak-time services and better weekend coverage, especially for those working in or visiting Hamilton.
• Local access and flexibility matter. We received mixed views on the Raglan town circulator, but overall support for a fixed-route service with connections to key areas like Ngarunui Beach, and interest in better integration with other transport modes.

How did community feedback shape the final decisions?

• All Raglan to Hamilton trips remain the same in the short term. Specifically, the trips that currently terminate in Hamilton East will not terminate at the Hamilton Transport Centre (which was proposed in the consultation). We have pushed any plans to change this out to the medium term pending further work.
• Feedback recommended extending the Raglan local route to Ngarunui Beach / Whale Bay, so this local service will extend to include these areas.
• Feedback on the local service also showed much stronger support for a fixed-route over an on-demand service, so that is what we will implement.
• Feedback on the operating hours and frequency for the local town service helped confirm the 7am to 7pm service with a two-hour frequency.

What’s coming

Short term

• No changes to frequency, hours or routes.
• School assist routes remain unchanged.
• Raglan to Hamilton remains at five return trips per day on weekdays, and three per day on weekends.
• Whatawhata to Hamilton remains at six return trips/day (weekdays).
• School assist routes remain unchanged.

Medium term

• Additional peak services:
  • Raglan to Hamilton will gain one additional peak-time trip in the morning.
  • Whatawhata to Hamilton will gain one additional peak-time trip in the morning on top of the additional Raglan to Hamilton trip (which travels through Whatawhata).
• New Raglan town service:
  • This service will operate on a fixed route every two hours from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.
  • The service will include a loop to Ngarunui Beach / Whale Bay.
• All Raglan to Hamilton trips to terminate at Hamilton Transport Centre (not Hamilton East).

Long term

• Increased frequency:
  • Raglan to Hamilton will increase to every two hours off-peak and on weekends.
  • Weekday service will extend to 9pm.
  • Weekend trips will double to six return trips per day.

View the full report for Raglan and west Waikato