Knicker-vicar wins day as town gets its bus run

A bus service will be launched next month to fulfil the needs of a knicker-starved Taranaki town.

The small township of Inglewood hit international headlines last October when a local clothing shop stopped selling women's underwear - leaving the town knickerless.

Taranaki Regional Council operations director Rob Phillips said a "knicker-run" weekly bus service between Inglewood and New Plymouth would hit the roads on November 1. The council and Land Transport New Zealand was subsidising the Tranzit Coachlines trips for a 12-month trial to ensure people were really serious about buying those new knickers - and anything else that might take their fancy, he said

Mr Phillips said the lack of knickers in the town had highlighted a public need for a bus service the council was already aware of.

The bus service answers the prayers of the Reverend Gary Husband, dubbed the "Knicker-vicar of Inglewood".

He decided to tackle the underwear problem last year when it was brought to his attention by female parishioners. He set up a monthly "knicker-run" using volunteer vans and cars, but said at the time he hoped for a subsidised bus service.