Matamata-Piako District

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).