A bus every 7.5 minutes: Govt spending $78m to revamp Christchurch bus network
From reporter Steven Walton:
A $78 million government grant to improve Christchurch's “unreliable” bus service will only cover about one-third the project's total cost.
Local councils and Waka Kotahi will cover the remaining $160m to ensure buses arrive every 7.5 minutes on key routes.
The Government money is coming out of the budget of the ditched $785m cycling and walking bridge planned for the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
A major revamp of the Christchurch bus network was first revealed in late 2020, but the time frame for the work was going to be about 12 years. The Government contribution, announced on Friday, would allow the revamp to happen within five to six years.
“This will offer people living in Christchurch regular and much more reliable bus services,” Transport Minister Michael Wood said.
Amongst the planned improvements are 100 extra buses, 22km of new bus lanes, and more than 470 new bus shelters. Some of the work has already begun, like adding bus lanes to Lincoln Rd.
The 100 new buses are being introduced despite recent struggles nationwide with a driver shortage. The shortage has caused thousands of bus trips being cancelled in Christchurch in recent months, frustrating commuters.
Wood said there had been “good progress” with the driver shortage in Christchurch. The shortage was now only 49 drivers, he said.
The 2020 business case for the city’s bus revamp said buses were unreliable and not as quick as taking a car.
It also estimated the revamp’s infrastructure (capital) work would cost about $115m, but Wood confirmed that number had now risen.
He said the revamp’s total cost would be $238m, but this figure also included the operational costs of running new buses and paying the new drivers. He was not able to say how much of the $238m cost was capital costs and how much was operational costs.
Of the $238m, the Government is covering $78m of it directly and the remaining $160m will be split between local councils and Waka Kotahi. Waka Kotahi and councils in Christchurch have already planned to spend millions on the revamp, but it is not clear how much each party will end up spending. Wood’s office has been asked to provide this detail.
Mayor Phil Mauger said it was great to be at the Government’s funding announcement on Friday, even though he voted against the revamp’s business case in 2020.
Asked if he would still vote against it, he said “probably not” because he had “learnt a lot more about how buses will make a difference [with reducing emissions]”.
Buses were a “good thing” that would help the climate change situation, he said.
Mauger said he also supported the 22km of new bus lanes, “as long as they’re in the right place”. Narrow roads should not be made narrower, he said.
“It’s all very well to have bus lanes everywhere, but if no-one else can get along [the road] everyone's going to get all snarly and upset.”
As part of the revamp, Christchurch’s main bus routes will have dedicated bus lanes with traffic lights that give buses priority.
The city’s main bus routes are Rangiora to Cashmere (#1), Airport to Sumner (#3), Rolleston to New Brighton (#5) and Halswell to Queenspark (#7). All of these services go into the central city and stop at the bus interchange.
The fifth main route is The Orbiter, which does a circular route.
The revamp aims to convert the main routes to “turn-up-and-go” services, where a bus would arrive every 7.5 minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays.
Presently, these routes only have a 10 or 15-minute frequency.
The business case for the revamp said 14 million trips were taken on Christchurch buses in 2018, and it hoped to increase this to 20 million by 2028.
Poll: Is the increase in disability parking fines fair?
In October, the fine for parking in a designated mobility car park without a permit has jumped from $150 to $750—a 400% increase!
The goal is to keep these spaces open for those who truly need them. Do you think this big increase in the fine is fair? Share your thoughts below.
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89.3% Yes, it's fair
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9.9% No, it's unreasonable
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0.8% Other - I'll share below
House fire causing road closures
Pages Road is closed this afternoon from Breezes Road, this is due to a house that has caught fire in the area.
Coastal Ward Community Board member, Alex Hewison, shared the closure on a local Facebook page.
Fire and Emergency are at the scene but further details have not been shared at this stage.
Avoid the area where possible.
Have your say on Canterbury’s public transport
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on public transport in the region.
Environment Canterbury has released its draft public transport plan and is seeking submissions.
The draft plan outlines a vision for public transport in the region and notes key priorities such as improving the environment, growing patronage, accessibility, innovation and technology, and affordability.
‘‘Public transport takes many forms with communities across our region,’’ councillor Peter Scott said.
‘‘With limited funding available, we need to make sure we make the best decisions to deliver a public transport network that is integrated with urban development, innovative and meets the needs of new and existing customers.
‘‘Effective public transport is the lifeline that connects us to work, school, recreation and our friends and family, so it is important we get this right.’’
The Canterbury’s population is growing and by 2050, it is projected 700,000 people will be living in Greater Christchurch.
The draft plan covers public transport for the region, which includes the Metro service (Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri), MyWay by Metro in Timaru, Total Mobility and Community Vehicle Trusts.
It was developed in partnership with local councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Environment Canterbury has been planning to step up its public transport efforts by increasing the frequency of existing services and introducing mass rapid transport in Greater Christchurch.
But these plans have been stalled by a lack of public transport funding in the Government’s 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
A proposal to allow people to travel with domestic pets is also included in the draft plan.
Having pets on buses has been successfully trial in other parts of New Zealand, councillor Joe Davies said.
‘‘We’re keen to understand what controls are needed for our bus users in Greater Christchurch and Timaru to be comfortable with pets on public transport.
It is proposed to allow adult passengers to bring a single pet on board, as long it is in an approved carrier at off-peak times, weekdays between 9am and 3pm or after 6pm, and during weekends.
Another proposal would loosen those restrictions in future to allow for leashed and muzzled dogs and increasing the limit to two pets per passenger.
‘‘We want to gauge how people feel about these proposals. Now is the time to have your say,’’ Davies said.
Submissions close on Thursday, October 24.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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