Bus bike rack use resumes all hours

Bike rack use on ORC’s Orbus services in Queenstown resumes day and night from today, 1 May.

The use of bike racks during the day from 7am to 6pm resumed on Queenstown’s 23 buses two weeks ago, but now that all those buses have been modified and are compliant with Land Transport rules, bike racks can be used at night as well.

ORC’s Manager Transport Lorraine Cheyne thanked the public for their patience and acknowledged the frustration felt by some passengers.

“We’re very pleased to be able to resume the full bike rack service in Queenstown from today and we appreciate the efforts of Ritchies, our operator in Queenstown, for making the changes that allowed the full bike rack service to begin again as quickly as possible,” she says.

A temporary night-time restriction on the use of bike racks on Dunedin and Queenstown buses started on 2 November 2024, after NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) issued a safety notice.

At the time Ms Cheyne said the safety notice had brought to ORC’s attention that carrying bikes at night could result in the lights on the buses being obscured. By implication the vehicle was deemed to be not fully compliant for use on the roads if carrying a bike, whether during daytime or at night.

Although only some bus models were affected, Ms Cheyne said ORC was required to restrict the use of bike racks on all buses at all times, while all vehicles were assessed, and those that required it were modified.

Last month NZTA issued an exemption that allowed buses carrying bikes to be deemed compliant during daylight when lights were not needed.

However, as of today all buses on the ORC networks, in both Dunedin & Queenstown, have be assessed and modified as required, to comply with the Land Transport rule on vehicle lighting at all times when carrying bikes.