The Otago Regional Council will be offering free transport to 5- to 12-year-olds from July 1, and half-price fares to 13- to 24-year-olds using a Bee card.
The concessions are an extension of the Ministry of Transport’s community connect programme.
The programme received $98million over four years in Budget 2022 to help authorities make public transport more affordable.
Regional council transport manager Lorraine Cheyne said staff had been working to make sure the new fare structure could be applied when the fares structure changed on July 1.
"One of the challenges for many public transport authorities has been the implementation of age verification.
"Otago is one of eight other regions in New Zealand that use the Bee Card and this group has all adopted the new concessions and will be able to verify concessions by age through use of the Bee card."
Some other councils, including Wellington and Auckland, were struggling to update their systems.
Regional council chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said the move would make public transport more appealing for families and help those finding it difficult to balance their budget.
"Free travel for under-13s and reduced fares for young people get them used to using buses, which will encourage lifelong habits."
Fares for over-25s, using a Bee card, will cost $2 per one-way trip.
There will be no change to the off-peak concessions for SuperGold card-holders — $2 during peak times with a Bee card.
