An expansion to Hamilton bus services next financial year has been endorsed by Environment Waikato councillors during deliberations over the draft 2009-2019 Long-Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).

The extra services are due to be finally endorsed at a council meeting on 29 June.

Under the proposals in the draft LTCCP, bus services in eastern Hamilton would be expanded and become more frequent in calendar 2010. This would bring services in this sector of the city more into line with services in western Hamilton, said EW’s transport portfolio manager Chris Langstaff.

In particular, a new Eastern Loop service is scheduled that would act like a "mini-Orbiter" service circling the eastern suburbs. Mr Langstaff said the actual stops to be serviced on the Eastern Loop would be confirmed after further analysis of the best route.

"Bus use has grown very strongly in Hamilton in recent years showing there has been solid demand for our expanded services.

"We expect the extra new services will help further meet this demand for affordable and efficient public transport in our city," said Mr Langstaff.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners such as Hamilton Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency to ensure we get the best out of our expanding network."