New Zealand Railways Road Services
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The New Zealand Railways Road Services was a branch of the New Zealand Railways Department and later the New Zealand Railways Corporation. The branch operated long-distance, tourist and suburban bus services in New Zealand.
[edit] History
The first bus operation by the Department began on 1 October 1907, between Culverden on the Waiau Branch and Waiau ferry in Canterbury. By the 1920s the Department was noticing a considerable downturn in rail passenger traffic on many lines due to increasing ownership of private cars, and from 1923 they began to co-ordinate rail passenger services with private bus services. In November 1926, the Department purchased a private bus firm operating between Hastings and Napier in the Hawke's Bay region. The Department then acquired various other bus services in Dunedin and the Hutt Valley. By 1928 the branch was operating 56 buses. In 1931 the Government passed the Transport Licensing Act, which regulated local bus services to ensure that services would not compete with the Department. This further increased acquisitions by the Department of small bus companies.
[edit] Privatisation
Following the Corporatisation of the Railways' Department in 1982, the Railways Road Services were split into two branches within the new Passenger Business Group of the Railways Corporation. InterCity took over long-haul routes, and CityLine handled urban bus services. New Zealand Rail Limited did not acquire either of these businesses when it was split from the Railways Corporation in 1991, instead InterCity buses was sold in 1991 to a consortium and Cityline was sold to Stagecoach New Zealand. Speedlink Parcels, which incorporated some of the Road Services' parcel services, was sold to New Zealand Post.
