Uzabus driver Eddie Iona, Horizons Regional Council councillor Rachel Keedwell and Uzabus operations manager Sally Hatcher welcome the new bus service between Ashhurst and Palmerston North, which was launched in July 2016.

The number of people using public transport in Palmerston North continues to drop.

More than 100,000 fewer people used city buses in the last six months of 2016 compared with the same period four years earlier.

The numbers fell from 635,398 in 2012 to 525,905 in 2016.

At a Horizons Regional Council meeting on Tuesday, transport services manager Phil Hindrup said the decline of petrol prices in the past few years coincided with decreased patronage.

But recently, petrol prices were on the rise, so Hindrup hoped to see an increase in passengers.

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Patronage in Whanganui was also declining, with patronage dropping from 80,877 in 2012 to 73,049 in 2016.

Feilding's patronage dropped from 47,431 in 2012 to 43,042 in the same period, but numbers were slightly up from the second half of 2015, which had 42,669 bus users.

Ashhurst, which only had 445 passengers in 2012, shot up to 2425 passengers in 2016.

Despite the lower numbers, new bus services around Manawatu, which started in July 2016, were on track to continue until 2018.

A two-year trial service between Ashhurst and Palmerston North had about five passengers on it at peak times, but with a few tweaks Hindrup hoped it would gain interest.

"It is growing, we think."

Hindrup was "reluctant to tinker with it too much" as it was "early days", but a 7.05am bus from Ashhurst to Palmerston North and a 7.40am bus back to Ashhurst would be stopped as only one person on average used those services.

Instead, the council would introduce a 4.30pm service, which still needed to be confirmed.

Public feedback also showed there was interest for an after-school bus, which could take pupils from Ashhurst into the city for sports.

The council would consider this as it would be a "cost neutral" change, Hindrup said.

"There is an opportunity there to make one change."

Horizons transport planner Ashleigh Gulliver said there was also increased patronage on the Summerhill bus service, which also had improvements made in July 2016.

The 3.40pm service was the busiest, as it coincided with school times, she said.

"The service is tracking well and it's anticipated that the patronage will grow."

Councillor Rachel Keedwell questioned whether the Summerhill service crossed over too much with Massey University services.

Hindrup said Massey services would potentially be thinned out.​