Buses to rescue of Hawke's Bay cyclists

Cyclists will soon no longer have to bike home in the rain - they will be able to sit warm and dry on a bus while their bike travels with them.

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council and New Zealand Transport Agency's bikes on buses initiative, to be launched later this month, will cost almost $50,000.

Bus company Go Bus will attach racks, costing $3200 each and capable of holding two bikes, to the front of 14 buses.

Regional council transport manager Carol Gilbertson said she did not want people to focus on the cost.

"The council can afford this because of increased patronage, and this needs to go back into the community."

Chairman of the council's regional transport committee, Alan Dick, said there had been significant demand for the service.

Secure bike stands will also be erected at some bus stops.

Mrs Gilbertson said this was in response to public demand for this service, and the increased number of pathways and cycle tracks in the city.

There will be no cost to people who use the service.

But she said it would be available only on buses that ran between Napier and Hastings, and urban suburbs such as Taradale, Flaxmere and Havelock North.