Councillor concerned over ECan’s public transport plans
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
News that Ashburton could end up part-funding Environment Canterbury’s public bus transport fares is concerning the organisation’s Mid Canterbury councillor.
Ian Mackenzie thinks the possibility of contributing to the annual funding of ECan’s generous public bus subsidies across Canterbury would result in zero benefits for the Ashburton District.
Ashburton has no public transport, other than an on-demand community connector bus run by volunteers to and from rural locations to the township.
ECan hopes to establish a Climate Change Action levy where all ratepayers would contribute.
One of ECan’s climate change action focuses is to get more people using public buses rather than their own vehicles.
Mackenzie is not convinced it is the right model and is concerned the climate change levy would be used to have the entire region subsidising public transport.
“That threat of charging for public transport, because of climate change across the whole region, sits within the climate change levy," Mackenzie said.
“That needs to be opposed, unless it’s specifically targeted for actions we can do, which will genuinely protect our community from climate change. That might be better flood protection.”
With the impacts of Covid still playing out, and many people still uncomfortable about using public transport while the virus was still rampant, Mackenzie said bus patronage was only about 70% of what it was pre-the pandemic.
“ECan has gone ahead and pumped several million dollars into buses, which I’m not sure is the right timing,” he said.
“We should have waited for Covid to finish, and it’s nowhere near finished yet, and then analyse what permanent changes are to the way people behave.”
He said there were a “whole lot of things we are yet to understand" but ECan was still insistent on “pouring money into buses as if it's business as usual".
ECan’s annual pricing plan would introduce a $2 flat fare across Greater Christchurch for metrocard holders, including areas like Lincoln in Selwyn or Rangiora in Waimakariri. The fare is $1 for tertiary students, under-25s, and total mobility and community service cardholders.
Mackenzie was also concerned that people in outlying towns were simply subsidising parents who opted to send their children into Christchurch for school.
“I’m not convinced that is something ratepayers should be asked to do,” he said.
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.6% Summer
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35.9% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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