The Suburban Rumbler takes to the streets this Christmas
With a great response and support from the community for operating the St. Clair – Normanby and St Kilda – Brockville /
Halfway Bush service during Easter, the Otago Heritage Bus Society are running the Suburban Rumbler Public Holiday Bus
Service once again for Christmas Day.
On three days each year, Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Dunedin is not covered by the Otago Regional
Council's integrated network of Gobus services. Our organisation and its’ members have a passion for public transport,
and we want to serve the widest possible portion of Dunedin’s community since we now have three operational vehicles,
all of the vehicles operated have a stack of local and national history behind them, making them very special to our
community.
A trial of allowing dogs onboard deemed popular by passengers during our Easter services and we will continue to allow
well behaved dogs to join their owners onboard the buses this Christmas, this is a common practice in some parts of
Australia and Europe. Along the Brockville-Halfway Bush route we will also serve the Dunedin Dog Park at the corner of
Wakari and Taieri Rd to give our furry four –legged friends a fun destination to go too.
Fares costs $10 for an unlimited all-day pass to all routes or by gold coin donation for humans and dogs can ride free.
Fares are purchased from the volunteer driver on the day. Proceeds from the Suburban Rumbler services go back into
restorations and operations of the Otago Heritage Bus Society to further benefit the community, such as the relocation
of Dunedin’s first trolley bus, which is currently in Wellington awaiting retrieval.
Full timetable information about both routes can be found online at www.otagohertiagebus.co.nz or by calling (03)4879585. This service is registered with the Otago Regional Council.
About the OHBS Inc.
The Otago Heritage Bus Society was founded by three individuals, Andrew Robinson, Paul Jeffery and Philip Riley in late
2010 when the last iconic DCT urban Leyland Leopard that was built especially for Dunedin was put up for sale. Upon the
successful purchase of the vehicle many people came out of the 'wood-work' to support the newly founded organisation and
since then it has been a fantastic journey.
March 2011 was the organisation incorporate and additional funds obtained to restore the classic vehicle Leyland Leopard 194 to an operational standard, so the we can service the community. June 2011 saw us obtain our Passenger Service License
and to give our Heritage Bus Collection a purpose, they were put to work in Christmas 2011, which saw the Society run
the first public bus service for over three-decades on Christmas Day in Dunedin along the St. Clair - Normanby route,
the service was fully staffed by volunteers of the organisation. Easter 2012 saw us increase services to include Good
Friday and Easter Sunday. Easter 2013 saw the organisation increase it's routes to include the St. Kilda - Brockville /
Halfway Bush route after the successful return to service for DCT #170, a Dunedin built Leyland Leopard.
Today the Otago Heritage Bus Society has three operational vehicles within its collection with a fourth soon to join the fleet, along with Dunedin's first Trolley bus - DCT #1 and a 1939 New Zealand Railways Road Service Leyland Cub which are under restoration or awaiting relocation. We operate
on the above public holidays along with a series of excursions and events during the year. The Heritage Bus Collection
is available for hire for weddings, conferences and private charters.
Our organisation is 100% volunteer run and 100% not-for-profit. For more details visit our website.
ENDS