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Regional bus services
Trains
Other passenger transport
Regional bus services
Our district's regional bus timetables and funding information are summarised below. Note: school buses are provided by the Ministry of Education, not by regional, city or district councils.
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Regional bus timetables
Regional bus services available in the Waikato District are listed below. Note that Huntly is the only town/settlement which has a 'within-town' bus service as well as a regional connector. Raglan's regional bus service also stops at several within-town locations, so travel by bus within that town is possible using its regional connector.
Check out regional bus timetables on the BUSIT! website. The tips below will help you to know what to look for once on the BUSIT! website.
- Huntly, Meremere, Ngaruawahia, Pokeno, Taupiri, Tuakau, Te Kauwhata - see the ‘Hamilton - Te Kauwhata - Meremere - Pukekohe’ route.
- You can also get to Ngaruawahia,Taupiri and Huntly by using the 'Northern Connector' route which runs between Hamilton and Huntly.
- Tamahere - see the 'Cambridge' route.
- Raglan - see the 'Raglan' route - the BUSIT! maps also include one showing the bus stop locations within the town. Also see 'Raglan - additional service' below.
Raglan - additional service
In addition to the Raglan bus services run by the Waikato Regional Council, our Council supports a minibus service run by the Raglan Chamber of Commerce. This service runs on Sundays (even when it's a public holiday - except for Christmas Day). Check out this mini bus timetable on the Raglan23 website - see the 'Sunday' listing under 'Raglan to Hamilton bus services' (about halfway down the page) for more details and costs. Other pages on the Raglan23 website not only detail and link to BUSIT! regional bus services, they list commercial operators providing transport between Raglan and other centres.
Tuakau and Port Waikato - combination services
Travel between Pukekohe, Tuakau and Hamilton is provided by Waikato Regional Council bus services - using the ‘Hamilton - Te Kauwhata - Meremere - Pukekohe’ route.
- Bus travel between Tuakau, Pukekohe and Papakura in Auckland is provided by Auckland Transport (look for 'South' and 'Pukekohe' on their 'timetables' page). The AT service includes an early and late bus (Monday to Friday) for commuters who want to connect to other services to get to and from Auckland.
- Use the George Street bus stop in Tuakau to connect to this service, which also includes some services between Tuakau and Port Waikato.
This means that travel between Tuakau and Pukekohe is possible using either the Waikato regional service or the AT bus service.
Funding and operation
- The National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) provides some funding towards the provision of public and passenger transport at national, regional and district level.
- In the Waikato District, our public regional bus services are provided by the Waikato Regional Council using funding from the NLTP. The regional council administers the services which are contracted out to approved bus operators.
- The Waikato District Council also subsidises 25 per cent of the cost of regional bus services in our district and provides some infrastructure to support their operation - for example, bus shelters.
Find out more in our road strategy and partners.
Trains
Inter-regional public passenger transport is also available by train via KiwiRail's Northern Explorer, which stops at nearby Hamilton. The Northern Explorer operates a six day timetable, heading south from Auckland on Monday, Thursday and Saturday; returning north from Wellington on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Te Huia train connects Waikato to Auckland - Papakura, twice daily on weekdays and once on selected Saturdays. To view Te Huia departure and arrival schedules see HERE. And, for information regarding parking at the Raahui Pookeka station.
To find out more about rail travel from Hamilton and beyond - see KiwiRail's list of stations.
Other passenger transport
Most other passenger transport within and through the Waikato district is provided by private operators, for example, commercial bus, shuttle and taxi firms.