eBus to run until 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights

Nelson’s eBus will run until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 December, giving people more time to get home after dinner, a movie, a night out or a Friday beverage after work. 

The Regional Transport Committee approved the change at its meeting on Tuesday 10 November. The new service replaces the Late Late Bus, which ran from 10:30pm to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. 

"We have tried to make the Late Late bus viable. Through extra promotion in 2024, and standardized fares in 2025, but patronage has remained low" says Mayor Nick. "The cost per passenger at $38 is too high to justify to ratepayers and NZTA". 

The Late Late Bus started in 2014 as a safe, simple night service connecting Nelson and Richmond. Since then, the way people go out has changed. National research shows fewer people heading out after 8pm, with visits moving earlier in the day. 

The eBus currently finishes at 7:30pm, which left a three-hour gap before the Late Late Bus began. The new hours close that gap. 

"Our decision today is to move from a late late bus on Friday and Saturday nights, from 10pm to a new service that begins at 7:30pm". 

"With summer here, and Spectacle and the Black Caps on the way, people can enjoy a big night out and know they have a way home" says Mayor Nick.  

From 4 December 2026, the eBus will run until 11pm every Friday and Saturday, between Nelson City and Berryfields.

“We have appropriately renamed the service 'The Late Bus' rather than the Late Late" says Nick.