The Otago Regional Council on Tuesday announced the third and biggest phase of its planned Dunedin bus network changes will take place on September 18, reflecting a ''fundamental shift'' in the council's approach.
New timetable booklets were being delivered throughout the city this week, before the bus service changes took effect, council staff said.
The route and timetable changes were the third stage of a wider programme being implemented to improve the city bus network structure.
Further improvements are planned, including a new suburb-connector service - the Ridge Runner - and cycle racks on all services.
The overall route changes started with southern routes on July 1, 2015.
Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said the changes were part of a ''fundamental shift'' in the council's approach to public transport in Otago, first outlined in the Regional Public Transport Plan in 2014.
The council was working to bring the Dunedin bus service into line with ''the expectations of 21st-century bus users'' and also aimed to increase bus patronage and to attract ''a new generation on to the bus'', he said.
ORC manager, support services, Gerard Collings said the latest changes aimed to help make the city's public transport network ''sustainable and efficient''. Many users would see ''an immediate improvement in the convenience of their service'' and buses would arrive more often on many routes.
But network changes did cause ''some inconvenience'' as users adjusted to new routes and timetables, and he asked them to ''bear with us'' during the changes, he said.
There would be changes to routes and/or timetables servicing the campus area, Calton Hill, St Clair, Corstorphine, St Clair Park, Normanby, Opoho, Pine Hill, Roslyn, Maori Hill, Helensburgh, Wakari, Balaclava, Shiel Hill, Port Chalmers, Portobello, Harington Point, Concord, Brighton, Green Island and Abbotsford.
Among the key changes, a new ''Ridge Runner'' service will be introduced, running from South Dunedin via the Glen, Mornington, Roslyn, Maori Hill and the Gardens.
The council was moving towards getting most urban on-peak services on Rapid (every 15 minutes), Frequent (every 20 minutes), or Regular (every 30 minutes), he said.
Routes would be streamlined and simpler, and evening and weekend service frequencies would also be increased on many routes, he said.
