Could you or someone in your household use support getting from A to B?
Services available year-round include 100% discount on our buses and 75% discount on door-to-door travel for people who meet the criteria.
Accessibility Concession - Free buses in the Bay
Our Accessibility Concession offers free bus travel across the Bay of Plenty for residents with permanent impairments that prevent them from driving. These impairments can range from physical and neurological to intellectual, psychological, or sensory.
To access this benefit, applicants must undergo an assessment by an approved agency. Please be aware that these agencies charge for their assessment or membership services, so it's advisable to confirm their fees beforehand.
Once approved, you'll enjoy complimentary travel on all Bay of Plenty Regional Council contracted bus services. To use this service, the concession needs to be loaded onto a registered Bee Card. The first card is provided at no cost, and replacements are available for $5. With this card, you'll receive a 100% fare discount each time you tag on and off the bus.
Additionally, the concession offers the possibility of 'companion travel'. The Accessibility +1 Concession, represented by a sticker on your Bee Card, allows a companion to travel with you without needing their own Bee Card.
Approved Accessibility Concession assessors:
- Rotorua approved assessors
- Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty approved assessors
- Whakatāne approved assessors
Total Mobility - Subsidised door-to-door transport
The Total Mobility scheme helps people with serious mobility constraints access subsidised door-to-door transport through approved providers based in Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatāne.
Eligible scheme members use their Total Mobility card to receive a 75% discount on door-to-door travel up to a maximum of $37.50 per trip (75% discount on $50 full fare).
Example journey |
Total fare |
Subsidy (up to $37.50) |
Fare you pay |
Going to the supermarket |
$20.00 |
$15.00 |
$5.00 |
Visiting a friend |
$50.00 |
$37.50 |
$12.50 |
Getting to the airport |
$70.00 |
$37.50 |
$32.50 |
To join the scheme applicants are assessed by approved assessment agencies. All agencies charge a fee for this service, please check what their assessment or membership fee(s) are.
The assessment process identifies whether your mobility constraint means you cannot manage any one or more of these components of a journey:
- Getting to the place from where the transport departs
- Getting onto the transport
- Riding securely
- Getting off the transport
- Getting to the final destination