Timaru’s MyWay contact centre on the move to Christchurch

Monday, 1 September 2025

Months after Timaru’s MyWay transport service was made permanent, Environment Canterbury has announced its contact centre would soon move to Christchurch.

Metro spokesperson Thomas McNaughton said the MyWay by Metro customer phone support had been contracted to Ritchies, and that company was responsible for hiring and managing its staff.

However, ECan had now decided to bring the MyWay contact centre function in-house, and by mid-September the Christchurch-based Metro customer support team would provide all customer care via phone for Timaru customers.

“Environment Canterbury’s Metro team supported Timaru public transport customer enquiries before the MyWay by Metro trial, and we continue to provide support to Timaru customers today,” McNaughton said.

“The move to MyWay by Metro becoming a permanent service was the right time to revisit how we deliver customer care.

“We are providing our team with extensive training on MyWay by Metro and the broader Timaru network.”

McNaughton said Ecan was working closely with Ritchies to ensure the transition was “as seamless as possible” and the team was looking forward to providing more direct support for Timaru customers.

“We have a large number of ‘booking on behalf’ locations throughout Timaru where staff at these locations will kindly book a MyWay trip on behalf of the customer,” he said.

Introduced as a trial in June 2020, MyWay was made permanent in May. It recorded 264,000 passenger trips in the 2024-25 Financial Year.

In the 2023-24 Financial Year, 267,000 passenger trips were completed in Timaru, while 263,000 trips were recorded in the 2021-22 Financial Year.

In May, ECan said it would retain trial operator Ritchies until 2032, after it had successfully tendered to provide public transport services in Timaru.

ECan chairperson Craig Pauling said in addition to MyWay becoming permanent, the council was also proud to confirm increased capacity on school and Temuka routes.

Ritchies Transport chief executive officer Michele Kernahan said the fleet used by the company would be zero-emission, unless additional vehicles were required.

“MyWay is a great example of putting the customer first, of adapting a traditional model to the consumer’s needs, and we’re proud to have been chosen to continue the MyWay journey,” Kernahan said.