Baggage and Terms

Luggage

For the safety and comfort of all our customers, InterCity restricts the size, type and quantity of luggage or other belongings which you can bring on to our buses, and reserves the right to refuse permission for you to bring any item onto our service.

InterCity carries checked luggage subject to these terms and the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, Part 5, Subpart 1.

All luggage carried must be clearly labelled with the passenger's name, address, contact details and destination. InterCity luggage labels are available at InterCity ticketing agents.

When connecting from one service to another, passengers are responsible for collecting their luggage and ensuring it is checked onto the next service. InterCity does not provide a luggage transfer service.

The size, weight and number of luggage items that can be carried is specified below. If a passenger wishes to travel with more luggage than is permitted, or with oversize items, the item(s) may be refused if there is no available space.

Checked In

  • Up to two pieces per person weighing a maximum of 25kg each per person and one piece of max 20kg on any double decker buses. Each piece of luggage should not exceed total dimensions (length + width + height) of 158cm (62 inches).
  • If you are travelling with a wheelchair, mobility scooter or baby pushchair that can collapse down to fit within the Checked Luggage size and weight dimensions, it can be counted as one of your Checked Luggage entitlements. If the item cannot be collapsed down to fit our Checked Luggage size and weight dimensions, it will be regarded as Oversize Luggage.
  • Extra and oversize luggage may be carried subject to space available at a cost of $10.00 per item per sector, payable to the driver. Please note we cannot guarantee carriage of extra or oversize luggage on any specific travel date or service.
  • Please note that some buses on our network cannot accommodate oversized luggage. Please check the notes under 'Service info' when booking your fare.
  • Chilly bins, boxes and bags carrying fresh or frozen food and/or any frozen goods will not be accepted for transportation.
  • All sports equipment luggage, including golf clubs, must be packaged into a holdall secure bag. If it complies with the size and weight dimensions above, the item will be counted as one of your Checked Luggage entitlements. If not, it will be regarded as oversized luggage and a charge will apply subject to space being available.
  • As we are a passenger service, we do not carry freight or unaccompanied luggage.
  • Bicycles must be collapsed down (both wheels removed from the frame) with handlebars turned sideways, the chain covered and preferably in a bike case. They should not exceed total dimensions (length + width + height) of 158cm (62inches). Bicycles presented in this fashion will be accepted for travel and counted as one of your two Checked Luggage entitlements.  If your bicycle is not collapsed down then it will not be carried. There are some services that can't carry bikes for space reasons - check our oversize luggage page for more info.
  • Only InterCity staff may store or remove luggage from the lockers or trailer.
  • InterCity's liability for checked luggage that is under InterCity's care and control is limited to $1,000 per item, subject to the exclusions for unsuitable checked-in luggage and prohibited items below.  Passengers are advised to arrange their own insurance cover for amounts over $1,000.

Unsuitable checked-in luggage

The following items are deemed unsuitable for luggage stowed in the luggage lockers. If you do include such items in your stowed luggage, you do this wholly at your own risk and InterCity will not be liable for any costs for inconvenience, replacement, delay, loss or damage you or any other party may suffer:

  • Passports and travel documents
  • Cameras, video cameras etc
  • Computers or computer equipment
  • Electrical or electronic devices
  • Business documents or important documents
  • Samples
  • Fragile, delicate or perishable goods
  • Valuable items, such as money, jewellery or similar
  • Any item that is not sufficiently packaged to withstand normal effects of carriage by road transport.

Carry-on

  • Each customer is limited to one carry-on item with dimensions not exceeding 20cm high x 28cm deep with a maximum length of 400mm.  The maximum weight is 5kg.
  • Handbags, umbrellas and walking sticks are permitted.
  • Chilly bins, boxes and bags carrying food and frozen goods will not be accepted for transportation.
  • You are responsible for your carry-on luggage, and InterCity accepts no responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage to carry-on luggage.

Prohibited items

The following items are prohibited from being carried on or transported by any InterCity service

  • Liquids/creams not carried in watertight containers
  • Flammable liquids
  • Explosives (including fireworks)
  • Poisonous, toxic, or hazardous substances
  • Solvents
  • Fuel (including gas bottles)
  • Batteries (unless used in portable consumer electronic devices)
  • Any form of firearm, weapon, explosives or ammunition. An exception applies to firearms, which can be accepted if they are unloaded and carried in a locked box or container that is designed to prevent access.
  • Illegal drugs or substances
  • Animals (except for assistance dogs)
  • Frozen food and fresh meat, poultry or fish
  • Any other item deemed unsafe by the driver or InterCity staff

Large/Oversized Items

  • "Large items" are heavier than 25kg or exceeding total dimensions of 158cm (refer to our Checked Luggage terms above).
  • These may be carried, subject to space availability on each sector travelled (limit - 1 per person). Please note we cannot guarantee carriage on any specific travel date or service.
  • Cost $10.00 per item per individual journey, and is payable to the driver.
  • In the interest of other traveller’s luggage and driver safety, all bicycles must have the pedals removed and the chain covered.
  • If you wish to take a bicycle with you as luggage, please contact us in advance of travel so we can inform the driver. This may make it easier for him/her to leave space for your bike. See our Oversized Luggage page for more information.
  • If the wheelchair or mobility scooter cannot be collapsed down to fit our Checked Luggage size and weight dimensions, this Larger Items policy applies.
  • Please note that some services are unable to accommodate bikes and other large items. This includes the Auckland 380 Airporter service and some Auckland to Wellington services.  See our Oversized Luggage page for more information.
  • InterCity carries checked luggage subject to the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, Part 5, Subpart 1.

Right of refusal to carry luggage

  • InterCity has the right to refuse to take luggage if it does not meet the requirements set out in these Terms and Conditions, or if it breaches the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, Part 5, Subpart 1.
  • If a Passenger travels with more luggage than permitted as above, then the additional item(s) may be refused if there is no available space.
  • Prohibited items are not permitted either on-board or in the luggage compartment.
  • InterCity does not carry unaccompanied parcels under any circumstances. Passengers must never accept luggage or parcels on behalf of someone else for security reasons.

InterCity will not be responsible or liable for any loss or inconvenience if a Passenger is refused travel under any of these circumstances.

Lost Property

If you have lost a passport, please report the loss to your embassy before contacting us.

If you have lost checked-in luggage, please fill out our Lost Property form or contact us as soon as possible so we can investigate. An investigation may take up to 4 business days and we'll come back to you once it is complete.

If you have lost carry-on luggage, please fill out our Lost Property form or contact us as soon as possible so we can investigate.  An investigation will usually take up to 10 days. Because of the number of lost property enquiries we receive, we will only come back to you if the item is found. Lost items will only be held for three months.

Queries, claims and complaints

If you have any queries, claims, complaints or Lost Property related to InterCity, please contact us by:

1. Email or
2. Post: InterCity Group (NZ) Ltd, PO Box 26-601, Epsom, Auckland
3. Phone


Claims for compensation must be received by InterCity within 7 days of the date of travel.  To make a claim please provide full contact details and time and date of journey. 

Terms and Conditions

Animal Policy

We are unable to carry animals on board our vehicles. Guide dogs and other certified service dogs are the only exception. Certified service dogs are welcome on board, subject to the terms and conditions on our special assistance page.

Smoking

Under the provisions of the Smoke Free Environments Act (1990), bus services are required to be smoke-free, including on-board restrooms, where provided. Smoking of any kind, including e-cigarettes or vapes, is prohibited.

Passenger Ability

Passengers must be able to stand unaided when boarding and disembarking the bus.

Passengers who require somebody to lift them on and off the bus must arrange for this assistance at pick-up and drop-off points.

For health and safety reasons, drivers are not permitted to participate in carrying of passengers. Passengers are advised that InterCity operates vehicles designed for long distance travel, and that these bus may feature steps into the bus as well as internal stairways to passenger seating areas.

Passengers must be cognitively capable of travelling alone on InterCity's long distance public transport services.  Passengers are advised that InterCity drivers are unable to supervise passengers during rest stops and service connections, and that it is the passenger's responsibility to ensure they disembark the coach at the correct destination stop.

Booking Fees

A booking fee of $6.50 applies to all online reservations and is non-refundable.

Failure to Join services

If a passenger fails to join a service, their entire booking including any connecting bus, train or ferry services will be automatically cancelled.

Seats

While InterCity does not allocate seats, the driver may ask you to move to another seat so that families and groups, particularly those with children, can sit together. We ask that you comply with this request.

InterCity Rewards

The InterCity Rewards programme was discontinued in September 2024. Any Rewards dollars not redeemed before this date have been removed and no refund on unused dollars will be provided.

Infants

  • Infants must travel with an adult parent or guardian over the age of 18.
  • For safety reasons, each adult may only accompany a maximum of one infant. 
  • Infants are free of charge if they are carried on the adult's lap (seats are not allocated to infant fares).
  • Passengers who wish their infants to travel in a car seat or capsule must book an additional seat using a Child or Non Refundable fare. Please note that InterCity does not provide child seats and cannot guarantee buses will be equipped with seatbelts.
  • Infants do not travel for free on our InterCity Day Tour products and must be booked under an Adult fare.

Unaccompanied Minors

A minor is deemed by InterCity Group to be someone aged 7 - 12 inclusive. A minor is deemed to be unaccompanied if they are not accompanied by a person over the age of 18 years. No child less than 7 years old may travel alone.

InterCity Group will carry unaccompanied minors on InterCity direct services only, provided that when purchasing the ticket all the required details were completed and the terms and conditions were agreed to.

If the ticket was purchased with an agent, the person purchasing the ticket will be asked to provide the required details and agree to the terms. This information will be sent to our contact centre and logged with the driver.

If purchasing the ticket online, the details will be collected in the booking process and the terms must be accepted before proceeding to checkout.  The information will be accessed by the contact centre and then logged with the driver.

If an unaccompanied minor arrives at the bus and the driver does not have a record from the contact centre, the child will not be permitted to travel unless the guardian is present to complete a form at that time.

Overnight services

For safety reasons, persons under 16 years cannot travel on any sector of the InterCity overnight service between Auckland & Wellington (or vice versa) unless they are accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 years. This policy applies to service numbers 6503, 6504, 6505 and 6506.

Timetables

Timetables published by Entrada Travel Group (NZ) Limited (InterCity) or the operators of InterCity are indicative only. Entrada Travel Group reserves the right to alter prices, timetables, routes and sightseeing stops without notice.  InterCity reserves the right to operate services in non-InterCity branded vehicles.

Services may be operated by more than one bus and/or driver for operational or scheduling reasons. As a result, you may be required to change buses during your trip. Please follow the driver’s instructions.

If travelling to an airport or connecting with airport services, passengers should allow at least 90 minutes between the scheduled arrival time of their bus service and their flight’s check-in time, as InterCity cannot be held responsible for missed flights resulting from delays.

If a bus service is missed due to inbound flight delays, no refunds or transfers are available and a new ticket must be purchased.  We recommend ensuring appropriate travel insurance to cover unforeseen events.

Connecting Services

InterCity allows passengers to book a single trip that involves two or more connecting services (for example: Auckland to Napier via Taupo).  InterCity can only recognise such connections if they are booked as a complete trip.  If a passenger books separate trips (for example: (1) Auckland to Taupo and (2) Taupo to Napier) InterCity will not be able to recognise that the passenger is connecting and consequently InterCity is not liable to provide assistance and/or compensation if an onward service is missed due to delays or disruptions on a preceding service. 

Tickets

Only the person named on the ticket is permitted to travel. 

Tickets may be resold if the purchaser is unable to travel. However the ticket may not be resold for more than the original purchase price and the passenger name must be changed on the reservation (amendment fees may apply).

Any tickets found to have been resold for more than the original purchase price will be cancelled without notice and no refund will be provided.

Transport Passes

Passes are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.

You can cancel your FlexiPass or TravelPass and get a full refund if you haven't booked any travel on it, or if you cancel it more than 2 hours before your first booked trip.

If you (or a previous owner) have already travelled on your pass, or if you cancel it within 2 hours of your first booked trip, your pass is non-refundable.

Booking passes for multiple passengers: If you want to buy two or more passes in one transaction, all pass holders must travel together throughout your entire journey. If you need to travel on different dates please buy individual passes for each person travelling. A $50 admin fee will be charged if you wish to split a pass after buying it. For full terms and conditions please view InterCity FlexiPass terms, InterCity TravelPass terms

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is available on selected services and provided free of charge. If the Wi-Fi service is unavailable no refund will be issued.

InterCity Mobile App

By installing and using the InterCity mobile app you agree that you have read, understood and agree to our website and mobile app Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

The app will store your details so you don't need to log in every time. Your name and contact details will be stored by InterCity and may be used to contact you about your travel or about relevant offers. We will not share your details with any other companies.

Payments made via the mobile app are pre-authorised before completion. The pre-authorisation hold is imposed by your bank and will be removed upon completion or after a period of 10-14 days.

Access to and use of InterCity Group websites and mobile apps is not guaranteed and may be restricted or blocked without prior notice for maintenance, operational or technical reasons.
 
You may only access and use our websites and mobile apps to view the availability of our goods and services for your personal and domestic purposes, to transact lawful and authorised business with InterCity Group, and for no other purpose.
 
You must not use our websites or mobile apps to make an unauthorised, false or fraudulent booking and you must not take any action that could interfere with the normal operation of our websites or mobile apps.

Prohibition of Website Scraping

Website scraping, data mining, or extracting content from our Website through automated means, including but not limited to bots, spiders, or crawlers, is strictly prohibited.

You are expressly prohibited from reproducing, distributing, displaying, modifying, transmitting, or otherwise using any content from our Website without our prior written consent.

 

Sightseeing Tours 

  • Entrada Travel Group (NZ) Ltd, reserves the right to alter prices and timetables and to arrange alternative transport, routes or sightseeing services without notice.
  • A booking fee of $6.50 per transaction may apply to all reservations.  
  • InterCity tour bookings are non-refundable, non-transferable, and do not include hotel pickups or multilingual commentary.
  • Children aged 14 or under cannot travel on any Entrada Travel Group tour service without an accompanying adult aged 18 or over.
  • InterCity Group products are sold subject to the conditions of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, Part 5, Subpart 1, the terms and conditions published by the carrier and conditions printed on the ticket.
  • Entrada Travel Group and GreatSights® are not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the purchase or use of its products or services or the purchase or use of any third party’s products or services.
  • No refund will be made against customer failure to report prior to departure. Claims for refunds due to circumstances beyond the control of tour operators, service supplier or customer should be submitted in writing, but no later than 30 days after the date of tour departure. Refunds must be claimed within 30 days of cancellation. It is recommended that customers adequately insure themselves against cancellation charges and the possible loss of money or personal belongings.
  • Due to the uncertainty of fuel prices, GreatSights® reserves the rights to add a fuel surcharge to any of their tours.
  • Tour codes are shown in brackets for booking purposes. The following Great Sights® tours are operated by third parties - GS57, GS55, GS99.
  • Participating in any of our swimming activities can be a strenuous activity. This physical activity may increase the health & safety risk for person suffering from medical condition(s) – for example stress from sudden exposure to cold water, panic or strenuous activity can aggravate some medical conditions, and certain medical conditions such as heart disease may result in cardiac arrest. Any medical conditions that may affect your swimming ability must be recorded with the master of the vessel prior to start the activity.
  • While every effort is made to operate the Milford Sound tour in glass roof coaches, due to servicing requirements these vehicles may not always be available.
  • All prices are in New Zealand dollars and include 15% Goods and Services Tax.
  • For full sightseeing tour terms and conditions please refer to the carriers: GreatSights, awesomeNZ.com or Fullers GreatSights.

Image Use/Privacy

1. The passenger acknowledges and gives consent for Entrada Travel Group by itself or through an agent to take photographs, audio or video recordings, or other forms of recordings that capture the passenger’s image, likeness, voice, performance or all of these (“Images”) during the course of this activity / tour. The passenger acknowledges and gives consent for Entrada Travel Group to receive and use Images of the passenger from other.

2. Entrada Travel Group may use Images for marketing and promoting its services. The ways in which the Images will be used for marketing purposes include, but are not limited to, incorporating the Images in print, broadcast, internet media, direct marketing channels, downloadable content and applications, and all other media, platform or technology now known or to be developed for distribution around the world. The Images may be altered, modified, changed, combined or incorporated into other works.

3. The passenger has a right to request access to the passenger’s Images and to correction of those Images to ensure they are complete and not misleading. However, the passenger acknowledges that if the Images have been incorporated into marketing materials, it may not be reasonably practicable for Entrada Travel Group to make any changes to the Images. The passenger authorises Entrada Travel Group to refuse the request to correction in such circumstances.

Communication

Entrada Travel Group may send you an optional customer survey to the email address provided in your reservation. There is no obligation to complete this survey and you may opt out from future surveys at any time.

Entrada Travel Group may send pass customers emails containing useful information to help them manage their travel. You may opt out from future emails at any time.

Right to Refuse Carriage

InterCity, or any driver may at any time refuse to carry you, or remove you from any InterCity service, if:

• Any of them believe in their sole discretion:
- That such action is necessary for your safety, or the safety of the driver, any other passenger, luggage, or any other person;
- You are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or you are smoking, or you are behaving in a manner that is or may become dangerous, unlawful, offensive, abusive, intimidating or annoying to InterCity, a driver, any passenger or luggage, or any other person;
- That such action is necessary to comply with these terms, or any applicable laws, regulations, licenses, consents or approvals;

• You refuse to obey a reasonable request made by InterCity or any driver;

• You cannot prove to the satisfaction of InterCity or a driver that you are the person named in the driver's log or in any other InterCity generated ticket or travel information;

• You have previously committed an act of a type referred to in this section, and InterCity or any driver reasonably believes that such act may be repeated; or

• InterCity has previously advised you in writing that you are not permitted to use its services.

Liability

Entrada Travel Group products and services are sold subject to the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, Part 5, Subpart 1 and:

  • The full terms and conditions set out on InterCity’s website (www.intercity.co.nz), and any other terms and conditions published by the actual carrier or printed on the ticket; and:
  • Any special conditions specific to the fare type purchased. InterCity TravelPass, FlexiPass, FlexiTrip and Commuter passes, as well as train and ferry services, also carry special conditions in addition to those stated in this section.

The total liability of any Entrada Travel Group member (which includes any franchisee) or any of their contractors or agents for any cost, expense, loss or liability suffered or incurred by any passenger or other person, whether as a result of wilful default, negligence or otherwise, is limited to the lesser of:

  • Proven direct compensatory damages (which does not include, without limitation, loss of profit, revenue, saving or business or exemplary, indirect or consequential damages); or
  • The amount paid by the relevant passenger for the product or service.

If a customer acquires or holds themselves out as acquiring Entrada Travel Group products or services for the purposes of a business the provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 will not apply.

These terms and conditions are valid as of 11 June 2024.