Timaru to Christchurch in 40 minutes - it's a super bus service planned!!

Photo Source "Public Transport in Ottawa" Blog

Move over SUVs, Ferraris, BMWs and 18 wheelers; move over Intercity, Atomic, Naked Bus and other bus operators, the  mad bus driver is coming through!! Yes he or she is hurtling north from Timaru at 260 kmph. with 23 passengers - and with possums, hitch-hikers and slow motorists bouncing off the bonnet!

Well maybe.  The superbus is real, a prototype was recently launched.  I can't help thinking, hey, this is just an update on the old "service cars" that delivered much of the travel between towns and cities in New Zealand before world war two. Instead of a centre aisle each row of padded seats had their own external doors, most of them were built on the chassis of big American cars such as Packards and Cadillacs - wonderful looking machines.

However the idea that rural commuter services might be operated by district councils and ECAN allowing South Canterbury people travel within their area and others to travel tofro Christchurch by quality coach to arrive in time for work or lectures at Uni or CPIT, or meet morning appointments and attend all-day events, remains purely a fantasy. Even more unlikely on the Metro record, a committment to regular services in an integrated pattern.

For an attractive commuter service from a small city to a bigger one in the USA check this out. For You-tube of the superbus designed by Wubbo Ockels and students at Delft University of Technology in Holland check here