Summer shuttle service

Mangawhai looks set to get a "sand-to-shops" shuttle service during its busiest summer weeks.

The service is proposed to run between Mangawhai Heads and the Mangawhai Domain, from December 26 to January 12.

Along its 22.6km route, the bus will stop at the shops, library and skate park.

The service is seen as a short-term solution to the massive spike in traffic congestion and parking problems as the population swells over summer.

Mike McGarry, chairman of the Mangawhai Business Association and champion for the service said the service meant people will be able to get around Mangawhai without having to use their car.

"The shuttle service will provide the opportunity for people to move around [and] see all the different local businesses and events such as galas without having to find parking," Mike McGarry, chairman of the Mangawhai Business Association and champion for the service, said.

Nominal fares will be charged to contribute towards operating costs: $2 one-way for adults and $1 one-way for children aged 5 to 14, with under 5s free.

The service is expected to cost $10,000 a year, and will be trialled this summer and next summer.

It's a joint venture between the Mangawhai Business Association, Kaipara District Council and Northland Regional Council; with each having agreed to contribute 33 per cent of costs, or $3333.

With local share funding confirmed, the Northland Regional Council members received a report recommending going ahead with funding assistance at a meeting in Whangarei on Tuesday/this week.

Mr McGarry is waiting before he announces the service as a definite. "There's just some T's to be crossed and I's to be dotted," he said.