Citibus (New Zealand)

Citibus Limited previously called "Citibus-Newton" traces its roots back to its days as the municipal bus operator in Dunedin known as "Dunedin City Transport". Citibus is a bus and coach company 100% owned by "Dunedin City Holdings Ltd", a Dunedin City Council holding company and operates public transport routes in Dunedin, School bus services, Charter buses, and leisure and tourism transport services throughout New Zealand.

Citibus

Citibus (under the name of the parent company) operates these routes of the Dunedin bus network.
* Normanby-St Clair (Monday - Saturday Only)
* St Kilda-Brockville-Halfway Bush (Monday - Friday Only)
* City-Waverly (Monday - Friday Only)
* City-Portobello (7 Days A Week)
* City-Port Chalmers (7 Days A Week)
* Pine Hill-Lookout Point (Monday - Friday Only)
* Opoho-Shiel Hill (Monday - Friday Only)
* Corstorphine, St Clair - Wakari, Helensburgh (Monday - Friday Only)
* University - Kenmure (Monday - Friday Only)
* University - Balaclava (Monday - Friday Only)

Most of the above routes are operated 7 days a week, with another operator (currently Dunedin Passenger Transport) working the weekends or evenings.

chool and charter services

Citibus is a major operator of local school bus and charter trips around Dunedin, using vehicles from its urban and tourist fleet. A major peak of this business occurs during the summer season of cruise ship visits to Dunedin.

Tourism services

* Tour coach services to package tour operators are provided under the City of Dunedin and Newtons brands.
* First City Tours provides a double decker bus sightseeing tour around Dunedin.
* Track & Trail is a combined coach and train service from Dunedin to Queenstown connecting with the Taieri Gorge Railway
* Wanaka Connexions and Time2 are Citibus's brands for inter-city travel services around the southern South Island.

Company History

Dunedin City Transport (also variously called "Dunedin Corporation Transport" or "Dunedin Corporation Tramways" or "DCT") operated Dunedin's cable car system and trams (some of which were built by private developers) as a municipal transport department of the Dunedin City Council. Typically of most cities, Dunedin converted the tram and cable car routes firstly (in the 1950s) to trolley bus then to diesel bus (by the early 1980s). In the mid-1980s Rogernomics reforms, the department was incorporated as a Local Authority Trading Enterprise and named "Citibus Ltd".

Newton's Coachways was a charter coach, sightseeing and school bus company owned by Stewart and Norma Newton, itself successor to an earlier family firm "Mitchell's". Newton's took over the Dunedin area services and fleet of the New Zealand Railways Road Services, known as "Cityline" and re-branded it "Newton's City Line". Newton's was taken over by Citibus in 1993, and the combined firm traded for many years as Citibus-Newton Ltd or CNL.

CNL took the opportunity to simplify its name to Citibus in 2005 upon arrival of a new CEO, also with a new CEO Citibus extended its business back to its urban operations as the company had a more tourist focus operation in recent years. In 2006 it took over small inter-city coach operator Wanaka Connexions.

Personnel

Gary Williams took the Department through the corporatisation process, the merger with Newton's and developed the company from a local bus service to a diversified passenger and tourist business, albeit usually unprofitable. Upon his retirement in 2005, Richard Catto became chief executive for under 2 years, leaving in May 2007. The current chief executive is Tony Collins.

Vehicle fleet

Citibus urban buses and school buses

* 7 X 2008 MAN 16.223/Designline numbered 338-344
* 6 x 2002 MAN 12.223/Designline numbered 311-316
* 2 x 2007 MAN 16.223/Designline numbered 309-310
* 7 x 2000-2001 MAN 11.220/Designline, purchased from Leopard Coachlines in 2005 & 2006, numbered 321-327
* 10 x 1997 Dennis Darts Designline numbered 328-337
* 1 x 1992 MAN 12.180/Designline, number 211
* 3 x 1989 MAN 10.150/Coachwork International 301-303
* 1 x 1990 MAN 10.00/Designline midibus 405
* 3 x 1992 MAN 10.180/Designline numbered 304-306
* 3 x 1982 MAN SL200/Hawke numbered in range 317-319
* 3 x 1980-1981 Leyland Leopard/NZMB 44-seat buses 190, 194, 203
* 1 x 1989 Hino/Coachwork International 250

Citibus mini coach fleet

* 1998 Toyota Coaster 539
* Isuzu Journey 533, 536

Wanaka Connexions

* Toyota Coaster 400

City of Dunedin coach fleet

* 2x 2005 Volvo B12B 4+star 545-546
* 2x 2003 MAN 15.280 4+star 541-542
* 2x 2001 Spartan 4+star 537-538
* 2x 1999 Volvo B12 4+star 535-536
* 4x 1994 Isuzu LT/Designline 517-520
* Toyota Coaster
* 3x 1980s Volvo B10M/NZMB 510-511, 515
* various 1980s-1990s Volvo, Hino, Isuzu numbered 5xx

First City Tours

* 2x 1976/1981 Bristol double decker bus 711-712

Time2

Track & Trail

External links

* [http://citibus.co.nz Citibus website]
* [http://time2.co.nz long distance services]