Bus route changes in Hawke’s Bay have frustrated some parents, who say their children now face longer walks or multiple buses to get to school.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s (HBRC) new goBay bus network launches today, and replaces services parents say provided regular, direct stops outside schools at key times.

The changes impact students at Lindisfarne College, Hastings Girls’ High School and Taikura Rudolf Steiner School.

Under the new system, only one bus a day - Route 1A - will travel past the Lindisfarne College gates, arriving after classes begin and leaving before lessons finish on most days.

The council says changes to the bus network had been made with the “community at heart”. It had planned the changes to suit most schools but said Lindisfarne’s start and finish times made finding a universal “median” time difficult.

The change has frustrated Napier mother Leanne Duncan just days before her 13-year-old son starts the school year back at Lindisfarne.

The family live about 3km out of Taradale, with an eight-minute drive to the nearest bus stop.

“We rely on the bus to get him to the school gate on time and from school to a convenient bus stop to get home again,” Duncan said.

“I can’t drive my son to school and get back to my workplace by 8am ... I’m not available to pick my child up from school in the afternoon.”

Duncan said her son used the bus service at the beginning of last year when he started at Lindisfarne. He previously caught the bus that arrived about 8am, giving students time to cross Pakowhai Rd, drop off musical instruments or sports gear, and be seated for the 8.20am start.

“HBRC have offered two solutions: a 10-minute walk, which would be okay on a fine day, when he doesn’t have to carry guitar cases and sports equipment,” she said.

“I’m not happy that he might have to do this on rainy days and sit all day in a wet blazer and long trousers.”

Parents say they worry about the alternative option which involves multiple buses. Students would need to take Route 1 to Hawke’s Bay Hospital and then transfer to Route 8, arriving at the Lindisfarne gate at 8.03 am.

Napier parent Eva Bradley, whose 11-year-old son is about to start at Lindisfarne, said the reliability of the previous public transport system was a key factor in choosing the school.

“The prospect of having to do bus changes and wait on their own on busy roads and cross busy roads when they’ve never used a public bus before is scary,” she said.

The new timetable means an 80 extra minutes a day in the car for Bradley.

“It forces us to reconfigure our work commitments and spend a lot of time crawling through congestion and peak times on the expressway.”

A Lindisfarne College spokesman said the school was disappointed by the timing and structure of the new network.

“We’ve got 25 to 30 kids from Napier that attend Lindisfarne College. The changes to the bus routes are not going to meet their needs to get them to school on time.”

The spokesman claimed council consultation was “non-existent/insignificant” to the point the school felt like its voice was not being heard during the process.

The school wants the regional council to adjust the 1A timetable by five minutes.

“That would allow those kids to be at school and in class on time.”

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council transport manager Russell Turnbull said the changes were part of a major overhaul to reduce long travel times caused by the previous one-way loops.

“HBRC engaged widely with schools and families before finalising the route changes.

“Throughout 2025, all regional schools were contacted multiple times via email to inform them about the proposed changes, and then the transition.

“The changes were also included in the formal consultation for the Regional Public Transport Plan 2025–2035."

Turnbull said pop-up community information sessions were held in Napier and Hastings also.

“We discussed impacts directly with bus users, including student councils.”

Turnbull said the council was open to reviewing the timetable after the new network launch.

“We are open to reviewing specific timetable adjustments, particularly on school-heavy corridors if the data shows the current schedule is not workable for a significant number of students.”

The regional council had two ribbon-cutting ceremonies this morning to launch its redesigned bus network.

Regional Council committee chairman Neil Kirton praised the network as a huge achievement.

“We’ve built this with our community at heart. Connecting the airport, the hospital, and our sports park isn’t just about transport,” he said. “It’s about making life easier for families, workers, and students.”

To celebrate the launch all GoBay services from January 25 to 31 are free of charge.

The changes:

• A new peak-only Route 1A caters to travellers via Pakowhai Rd and St Aubyn St, while Route 11 continues Napier–Hastings via Clive and now includes Whakatu for weekday travel.

• In Napier, Route 2 connects Taradale, Onekawa, and EIT with added stops at Kmart, Mitre 10, Poraiti, and Guppy Road.

• Route 3 simplifies Maraenui travel with better access to Bupa Willowbank Village, and now extending to Tamatea.

• Route 4 goes to Hawke’s Bay Airport, bringing a direct public transport link to this important regional gateway for the first time.

• Route 8 replaces the MyWay on-demand service and covers Camberley, the Hospital, Mahora, Hastings Library, and Raureka.

• Routes 6 and 7 improves coverage across Flaxmere, Akina, and Karamu, which also helps replace MyWay, while Route 21 (Havelock North) is now part of Route 1, serving both Arataki (East) and Bull Hill (West).