The Better Buses Ōwhiro Bay Organisation is an independent grassroots group founded to see better bus services in our suburb. We are two full-time university students who, for the last 6 years, have noticed the worsening of bus services in Ōwhiro Bay. When Metlink announced the return of Route 4 in January 2024, we were excited. As the old Route 4 had serviced our suburb before 2018, our hopes were high. It was our belief for a moment that Metlink had made a decision that would finally provide some relief to our suburb that was so desperately needed and desired in the community. Unfortunately, this was not to be. The new Route 4, which essentially is the former Route 12, has no relation at all to Ōwhiro Bay. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. For us, the return of a popular route name cut too deep and was symbolic of the way we felt Ōwhiro Bay has been treated by Metlink. We had to act.

Since early January, we have conducted rigorous time-consuming research into the full extent of the bus network. Our findings are published here on our website. We recommend everyone take a look and see the state of the bus network in Ōwhiro Bay.