Our bus services GizzyBus and Waka Kura school buses use Bee Card smart cards.
Bee Card makes bus travel easy
- Tag on, tag off
- Easy online auto top up
- Cheaper fares
- Contactless payment
- Easily check your balance
- Use in other regions too
Buy a Bee Card
The Bee Card costs $5. For a limited time we're offering a free Bee Card when you sign up in person - waiving the usual $5 fee. Pop into the library or our customer services counter to register.
Minimum top up is $5 credit.
2 options to get a Bee Card
Order online cards cost $5 to purchase and postage is included.
Online card orders take up to 10 working days to arrive in the post.
Register your Bee Card when you receive it
Registering your card online helps keep your card and balance safe and makes it easier to manage.
When you have your Bee Card, go online to and follow the easy steps on Beecard.co.nz
Once your card is registered you can:
- Top up online
- Set up Auto Top Up so you never have to worry about topping up again
- Check your balance
- Protect your balance if your card's lost or stolen
- Manage more than one Bee Card with a linked account, great for families.
- If you're eligible, you can load your child or SuperGold concessions.
Where to buy a Bee Card:
- Council's customer service counter - Fitzherbert Street
- HB Williams Memorial Library - Bright Street
Cards bought at these locations may show as “inactive” in your online account for up to 24 hours while being uploaded to the national database. Once activated, you can register your card online.
Register your Bee Card online
Registering online helps protect your balance and makes it easier to manage your card.
When you have your Bee Card, go online and follow the easy steps, go to Beecard.co.nz
Once registered, you can:
- Check your balance
- Top up online
- Set up 'Auto Top Up' so you never have to worry about topping up again
- Manage more than one Bee Card with a linked account (especially useful for parents)
- Load child or SuperGold Card concessions
- Protect your balance in case your card is lost or stolen.
Topping up without internet
If you don't have internet access, you can top up your card with cash only at:
- Council's customer service
- The library - Bright Street
SuperGold card users - what you need to know
To continue to enjoy free travel between 9am - 3pm make sure your SuperGold concession is loaded onto your Bee Card.
Rather than showing your SuperGold card to the driver, you'll simply tag on and tag off using your Bee Card.
If you plan to travel outside the free hours, it's a good idea to top up your Bee Card with funds, as standard adult fares will apply.
Tag on and tag off the bus
Tap your Bee Card on the reader as you board the bus.
Wait for the beep and the green light, then you’re ready to go.
When you’ve reached your destination, do the same to tag off when you leave.
If you don’t tag off, you'll be charged the higher default fare.
Questions and answers about your Bee Card
Children under 5 travel free and don't need a Bee Card.
Every passenger aged 5 and over must have their own Bee Card to receive the discounted fare. This includes:
- Community Service Card holders
- SuperGold card holders (free travel between 9am - 3pm only; travel outside those hours is required to pay the adult fare.
Community Connect is a new Bee Card concession available for Community Service Card holders. It entitles the card holder to a free Bee Card if you don’t already have one, and half price adult fares on the GizzyBus service.
For more information and to apply for a Bee Card, visit Beecard - Community Connect
Yes, to receive the discounted fares, you will still need to tag on and tag off buses using your registered Bee Card.
To register your Bee Card, go to Beecard - Community Connect
Online top ups at beecard.co.nz
Or top up at:
- GizzyBus driver - cash only
- Council's customer service
- The library
Reminder
Online top ups can take up to 12 hours to activate.
Top ups on GizzyBus, customer servicer and the library are instant.
Note that the top-up will show as 'pending' on your account until you have tagged on.
Your credit will activate once you tag on the bus.
New and replacement Bee Cards cost $5.
If your Bee Card didn't work, it may be because:
- did you activate your card online using the 3-digit security code?
- did you tap the card in the right place?
- did you use card user date of birth?
- there may be insufficient funds - check your balance online.
Yes - Auto Top Up will ensure you always have enough balance on your Bee Card to pay your fare.
If your Bee Card goes below your pre-selected threshold amount, Auto Top Up will kick in with your pre-selected dollar amount.
If your Auto Top Up fails
You'll receive an email letting you know that Auto Top Up has been suspended.
Once you've resolved the issue that caused the failed payment you'll need to restart the Auto Top Up on your Bee Card.
Any bank fees that are charged as a result of insufficient funds in your account are your responsibility.
Yes you can still pay with cash, but you'll pay more. It's cheaper to use a Bee card.
In the near future we'll be moving to fully contactless payment and remove cash payment for fares.
You can, but we recommend everyone gets their own Bee Card.
Tag on like normal and then speak to your driver - they can take credit off your Bee Card to pay for others’ fares. Then remember to tag off when you leave the bus.
Yes, you can attach multiple Bee Cards to one account.
But each card requires its own money, you can't share money between cards.
The Bee Card doesn’t allow for the same email address for more than one account, but it does allow up to 100 cards to be linked to the same account.
If your registered Bee Card is lost or stolen, you can cancel your card online or in person.
New and replacement Bee Cards cost $5 and your balance can then be transferred to your new card.
Balances cannot be transferred on lost or stolen cards that are not registered online.
Contact us - all refunds and reimbursements will be applied at the discretion of Gisborne District Council.
You can use your Bee Card on buses in these areas:
- Northland
- Waikato
- Bay of Plenty
- Taranaki
- Hawke’s Bay
- Manawatu-Whanganui
- Nelson
- Otago
- Invercargill