At the moment, Dunedin buses are a mixture of colours with the operators’ logos on their sides. With the new name for the service, we’ll be moving towards a consistent identity across the buses and our communication about them.

Our Queenstown service will have the same name and look, using the same vibrant Otago yellow as the Otago Regional Council brand.

‘Orbus’ is a conjunction of the Otago region initials ‘OR’ and ‘bus’, as well as merging the words ‘orbit’ and ‘bus’. The brand identity, developed by Luke Johnson, of BrandAid, is an easily-recognised bright Otago yellow in a simple and distinctive ‘O’ shape. The shape references existing public transit visual language, using simple clean elements of circles and lines to communicate stops and routes.

The new name and identity will be launched at the start of the new Queenstown service next Monday, 20 November — some buses will be branded with the new identity in time for the launch. The regional council will then work on integrating ‘Orbus’ into Dunedin’s new timetable and online information as we head towards the bus hub launch, with exterior bus branding being implemented over time.

The rebranding is part of an overall move towards clearer communications around the regional council’s bus services.

Communication improvements we’ve been working on so far include changing the way we display timetable information online, and creating channels for feedback (for example, the bus Facebook page). We’ll also be reviewing the printed timetable next year, especially route maps, with the aim of making them more user-friendly.

This column in your Star moves to monthly now, as the Otago Regional Council keeps you informed about changes to your bus services.