Fares stripped to $1

30th September 2006

A new bus service is offering fares starting at $1 between Napier, Hastings, Waipukurau and other North Island cities. Nakedbus.com, which will run buses from 9 October, started to sell tickets on its website yesterday.

There were $1 seats available on buses from Napier and Hastings to Wellington and Auckland on every day of the first week.

Nakedbus.com managing director Hamish Nuttall said the average fare for a trip between Napier and Wellington would be $25. The most expensive fare will cost $32, but this would apply to only about 10 percent of seats, Mr Nuttall said.

The company has cut overheads by doing away with ticketing agents and offering tickets that can only be purchased over the internet.

It also plans to offer tickets that can be purchased via text message.

The company said its "no frills" approach was based on hugely successful British transport models like airline Easyjet.

Mr Nuttall said he saw a gap in the market for this kind of service.

"With rising petrol prices and bus fares it makes sense to offer commuters an alternative to private cars and existing bus services," he said.

"Each bus trip will have seats as low as $1 available and the remaining seats will still be much cheaper than what is currently offered by existing bus services.