The on-demand public transport now allows passengers to travel closer to Caroline Bay and a new parklet is situated by the miniature train and mini-golf facility.
The service is also trialling an extension of its hours on Friday and Saturday nights to 9pm.
Environment Canterbury public transport business services and improvement team leader Dan Daly said the new Caroline Bay stop had proved popular since beginning in December, completing 226 pick-ups and 261 drop-offs at the new stop in its first month.
Mr Daly said patronage had remained strong in January, with 234 pick-ups and 256 drop-offs. As a comparison, in January 2023 the closest stops outside of Caroline Bay had 126 pick-ups and 174 drop-offs.
"It’s great to see more Timaru locals making the most of the service, now that it can drop and pick them up even closer to the beach itself," Mr Daly said.
"The decision to take the service into the Caroline Bay area allows for much better accessibility to the beach itself, now passengers don’t need to take the Piazza steps or walk from the Port Loop Rd stop to reach the beach, playground or other facilities."
The Timaru District Council-installed parklet near the miniature trains provides passengers with shade, seating and wireless phone charging using solar energy from the panels on the parklet’s roof.
The later services on Friday and Saturday evenings had also been well used so far, Mr Daly said. More than 150 rides had been completed on the late-night service in its first couple of weekends.
"We were hearing from locals this is what they wanted, so we are glad to be able to provide them with more options on those evenings."
