Regional bus service gets new name: eBus

The new bus service that launches in August will be known as eBus, replacing the current NBus name.

It was decided by Nelson City and Tasman District Councils that the new service would need a different name as NBus was too Nelson-centric.

The new expanded network will link the Tasman towns of Wakefield and Motueka with Nelson’s Brook and Atawhai, with the Nelson Airport also being linked into the network.

“To have a combined bus service that was continued to be named NBus was not consistent with the partnership and needed a new change,” says Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.

It was thought the new name should also signal the environmental benefit of the new service with 17 new electric buses being added to the regional public transport fleet, and also reflect the added digital aspects of the new service with wi-fi on the buses and real-time information displays on the bus locations at the major interchanges.

Elected members were presented with four options: MyBus, UsBus, NeTBus, and eBus, with the name eBus being approved by the joint regional transport committee last Friday.

“I think the eBus both reflects the excitement of an all-electric fleet and that there is an environmental benefit of both, not just the electric, but also using buses.”

Now the name has been approved, work will continue to install brand livery on the buses, timetables, website, and the bus stops and shelters.

Bus patronage has now also returned to pre-Covid levels.

“That is significant, we’re well out of that hole,” says Nelson City Council’s manager for transport and solid waste, Marg Parfitt.

“It will be interesting to see what will happen when half-price fares come off at the end of June, but of course we are introducing a new fare structure on the first of August which will be as good as half-price fares.”

The recovery of bus patronage has likely benefitted from the region not suffering a shortage of bus drivers, that has resulted in reduced services elsewhere.

“It is a real compliment to both councils but also more particularly our contractor [Nelson Coachlines – SBL Group] and how well they’ve managed their staffing that we have not had disruptions in this area,” Nick says.

Nelson Tasman is the only region not to have suffered substantive disruptions to its bus service.