Change to Bus stops from Monday 10th July 2023

From Monday 10th July 2023 the Castlemaine and Chewton Stop will be replaced with our new stop in Harcourt.

• Passengers Traveling to the Airport will be picked up at the Bus Stop opposite the General Store on Harmony Way.
• Passengers traveling to Harcourt will be dropped off at the Bus Stop adjacent to General Store on Harmony Way.

The new stop in Harcourt will be the closest stop for passengers traveling to and from Castlemaine and Chewton.

-> view a map of the Harcourt bus stop

Why is this happening

The decision to consolidate our Castlemaine and Chewton stops into one new stop at Harcourt was taken after careful consideration. We appreciate that this change may cause some inconvenience due to the extended travel distance for a few passengers, and we do not take this lightly.

However, our primary goal is to deliver a more efficient and punctual service for the majority of our patrons.  To this end, we have observed that most passengers board our service at either Bendigo or Kangaroo Flat.  Adding stops at Castlemaine and Chewton extends our journey by at least 15 minutes for those passengers.

We have considered maintaining a flexible timetable that incorporates both Castlemaine and Chewton.  However, this approach would also mean that the bus could potentially wait up to an additional 20 minutes at subsequent stops for passengers travelling from these locations, which is far from ideal.

By consolidating Castlemaine and Chewton stops into Harcourt, we are able to reduce the total travel time in either direction to approximately 2 hours. In many cases, the travel time will be further reduced to around 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Please note that the fares from Harcourt will remain the same, despite this enhanced efficiency.

However, due to the changes in our schedule and route, prices will increase for all other stops after July 10th, 2023.

We understand that this is a significant shift, but we trust that the overall improvements in service will be beneficial to the majority of our passengers. As always, we appreciate your understanding and your continued patronage.

Best regards,
The Team at Bendigo Airport Service