Public transport in Invercargill, New Zealand is mainly by bus. An unusual feature is the provision of some zero-fare bus services.
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The Mayor of Invercargill, Tim Shadbolt told a conference of New Zealand's Disabled Persons Assembly in October 2002 that Invercargill had an innovative approach to public transport, and that he hoped in future that all buses in Invercargill would be free and accessible.[1]
Passenger Transport provides the following suburban services under contract to the Invercargill City Council.[4]
These services incur fares during peak hours but are zero-fare from 9.00am-2.30pm (to 2.15pm on the Purple Circle) Monday to Friday and 9.00am-3.00pm on Saturdays.[5]
Many of the routes to or from the city provide either a direct route or a route via the adjacent suburb. Passengers are advised to watch for and signal buses travelling in either direction: "flag it down, it will bring you to town."[5]
Invercargill has two taxi companies:[2]
The Airport is only 3 km from the centre of the city and transport is mainly by taxi and shuttle van.[6]
The Invercargill City Council specifies, tenders, subsidises and contracts with bus operators for provision of public transport in Invercargill. Passenger Transport Ltd currently holds this contract.[7]
From the opening of the Bluff Branch in 1867 until the cancellation of the final service in 1967, passenger trains operated between Invercargill and Bluff for commuters and school children. In 1950, seven trains ran each way on the average weekday, with eight on Fridays, five on Saturdays, and one on Sundays. By 1967, only one train ran each way on weekdays for the benefit of school children, and due to being unviable, it was cancelled.
Invercargill formerly had the southernmost tram system in the world.[8] Construction began in January 1911 and two lines of 4' 8.5" (1,435 mm) standard gauge track were opened on 26 March 1912, one to Waikiwi and one to Georgetown. Later that year, two more lines opened, one to North Invercargill and one to South Invercargill; the latter was the southernmost electrified street tram line in the world and ran to Tramway Road.[9] In practice, the network operated as two routes: Route A between Georgetown and Waikiwi and Route B between North and South Invercargill.[10]
The Waikiwi line closed in 1947, though a portion remained in operation until 1951. The Georgetown route was closed on 2 July 1951, but the portion to Rugby Park Stadium remained open until August 1951. The South Invercargill line was next to close, on 31 May 1952, and the system's final route, to North Invercargill, ceased operations on 10 September 1952.[9]