About 30 invited guests from St John, Grey Power, Probus, clergy and St John partners Four Square Supermarkets and ASB were welcomed by St John Wakatipu area committee chairman Marty Black on Monday.
The 12-seat 2012 Ford Transit was sponsored by Four Square and will be the fourth to hit the road in the South Island, after Amberley, Ashburton and Cromwell.
Group manager Alan Smith, of Christchurch, told the gathering the charitable emergency service and the chain held the same values and he wanted to see more health shuttles in rural communities.
Cr Lex Perkins said Queenstown Lakes residents were "most fortunate" to have St John in the district and its staff were "unsung heroes".
St John senior order member Ian Rae, of Wanaka, officially received the shuttle from St John South Island community programmes manager Chrissie Cope, of Christchurch. St John Wanaka area chaplain the Rev Reg Weeks blessed the bus.
Any resident with or without a support person will be able to take the shuttle by calling the ambulance station in Frankton and giving a donation to support the daily weekday service. Although seniors were expected to use the service most often, it operated for the benefit of anyone who struggled or could not drive, or was in financial difficulty.
A total of 24 uniformed volunteers have offered to drive the shuttle and 16 did first aid and driving training last week.
A few more volunteers are needed as reserves.
