Rotorua bus users are being asked to check before they travel, as the Cityride network moves to a revised Covid-19 bus timetable from Wednesday, March 9.

The only two routes affected by this timetable change are 11 and 12, which will move from a weekday timetable to a Saturday timetable reducing the service from half-hourly to hourly.

The rest of the network runs on a Monday to Saturday timetable so are not affected by this change.

The changes are being made to provide more certainty for bus users, who may already be experiencing the impact Covid-19 has been having on their travel recently.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Transport and Urban Planning Manager, James Llewellyn, says the Rotorua Cityride network had already been affected by the Covid-19 Omicron variant, with bus drivers and other bus operations staff needing to self-isolate or take sick leave.

'We hope by moving to our Saturday timetable we'll be able to avoid cancelling services at short notice, which is currently becoming an issue for our passengers,” says James.

The revised bus timetable is likely to remain in place for several weeks and passengers are advised to check the Baybus website each time they travel for any updates to the timetables, or call 0800 4 BAYBUS for the latest information.

If the Covid-19 situation gets worse, then further timetable reductions across the rest of the network may be necessary.

Key points

• Rotorua Cityride buses will move to a revised Covid-19 timetable from Wednesday 9 March.
• The revised timetable is based on the current Saturday timetable and the only two routes affected with this change are routes 11 and 12.
• Bus users should get into the habit of checking www.baybus.co.nz before they travel for any further updates to the timetables.
• Further timetable changes may be necessary if more staff become sick with Covid-19.