There really is no great secret to getting people to consider altering their personal transportation habits, leaving the car in the garage, and hopping on a bus to get to work or the supermarket or the football ground. Just make it as easy and as cost-effective as possible to ride that bus. That appears to be the clear message from the spike in bus patronage in Dunedin during the latter stages of Covid-19 restrictions. The big question is whether that trend will be maintained when, in August, bus fares return to Dunedin, albeit largely cheaper than they were pre-Covid thanks to the introduction of flat fares, which will include a free transfer to a second bus. There’s a good feeling in the Dunedin bus community.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 29, 2020 16:30 UTC