NZ In Tranzit: Designline, More than bus factory jobs may go

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Designline, More than bus factory jobs may go

Tranzwatching - Christchurch New Zealand

Although Designline in NZ directly employed about 100 people, the effects of closure could be far greater, effecting two or three times the number because of other local component suppliers, according to local Trade Union Ged O'Connell. When Designline was based in Ashburton (pop 13,000) founder John Turton publicly expressed considerable pride that such a high proportion of elements used in the manufacture of the buses was supplied locally. Turton worked with local firms to help them rejig their production processes as needed to meet Designline customized bus designs rather than importing ready made components where ever possible. It is not known to what extent this process was maintained after 2006 when Designline was sold to US interests.

A fairly comprehensive news report of Designline's history and of recent events leading to its demise is featured in the Business Day section of Stuff.co.nz

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WELCOME TO NZ IN TRANZIT

This blog is mostly about public transport and social infrastructure in Christchurch, and transit around New Zealand. Also tracked; transit developments in similar sized cities in Canada and Australia, kindred in demographic patterns, for added perspective and inspiration. NZ in Tranzit blog covers some of the new transit technology and discusses public transport concepts in general, as well. Because the blogster's day-job is in a high profile customer industry to preserve some degree of privacy he appears only as a rabbit in his profile, albeit using his real name.

Christchurch is a city of metropop c 400,000 in Te Wai Pounamu, the southern of the larger islands of NZ. Public transport is operated under the auspices of a regional council with bus operations (and those of one small cross harbour ferry) tendered out to private operators including one owned by the City Council, Redbus. We have a modern clean fleet of buses which offer fairly frequent services to all city areas. The city has been quick to adapt new technologies such as low-floor buses, smart-card (arguably the best in the world!), GPS and Real Time signage and interactive text, and online type information systems. Our busiest route is The Orbiter, a service that circulates around the middle suburbs, and the ring of shopping malls, high schools and the city University about 4-5km from the centre of town

Christchurch also has restored trams operating on a central city circuit. Note [May 2011] - Sadly, due to two huge earthquakes (that took 182 lives) and multiple aftershocks much of the central city of Christchurch will be closed to public access for up to a year to allow the demolition of 900 severely damaged buildings. This includes a great many heritage buildings that previously gave the central city its distinctive character and (such was the exceptional ferocity of the second earthquake in February) even some of the high rises, possibly including those shown in photo above. Tram operations are suspended for at least a year. Many other parts of the city have resumed active life for both residents and tourists..

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LATEST ITEMS - Depending which doorway you came in by you may need to check out Archive Section [below] to get latest items. SEARCH use the search box at the top of page and keywords to find all postings and comments on any subject SUBSCRIBE - reminder you can subscribe [further down this column or by clicking on underlined word Atom at bottom of postings] to get regular dose of NZ in Tranzit sent directly to your email address. PHOTOS mainly by author or from Wikimedia Commons unless otherwise noted.

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Any intelligent blog, carrying almost correct information [and that is as good as it gets, even in newspapers!] requires hours of research, data base filing and investigation of topics. It will also probably draw upon a depth of experience that only comes with years of committed passion or involvement in the main subject areas. It's a lot of fun but also a lot of work, dozens of threads with which one must try to stay upto date. The downside of blogging, especially in periods of little feedback, is the feeling of talking into outer space with no obvious response, other than the page view counter ticking over (and perhaps this is just a mean joke by blogger geeks, a totally spurious invention to deceive bloggers someone is listening!) In these circumstances even one line responses, "right on" or "thanks for that info" or even "load of crap!" provides at least some morale boost.
NZ in Tranzit (aka the dwatted Wabbit -pops up everywhere ) welcomes all sorts of feedback, comments, opinion pieces or letters for and agin ideas put forward.
Apart from ticking the boxes or posting comments in the boxes provided, interested persons can also email information or comments off-site directly to Tranzwatch@gmail.com. It is recognised some readers are employed in transit or hold elected office, adding to the sensitivity involved. Be assured all correspondence or information sent to the email address is treated as totally private, except in the broadest sense of helping formulate a broader more accurate.

ALAS...........

The FrontRange Express service running multiple trips a day - mostly commuter orientated - between the small city of Colorado Springs and Denver two hours away is under threat. Despite 2008 being the busiest year in public transport patronage since the 1950s, transit in the USA is being savagely cut in response to the falling taxation base that supports it, in many cases reliant on funding from a small percentile of local sales tax. In a sort of act of self-cannibalisation, the transit authority for Colorado Springs has only managed to continue FREX service in 2010 by selling off some of the actual buses it uses. Hey Christchurch -open our minds, look around other cities in NZ and overseas, compare similar size places with similar key demographics - we could be doing public transport so very, very much better!

For example; despite 68,000 residents living in Canterbury areas south of Christchurch, in Ashburton and Timaru districts, twenty years after Environment Canterbury? took over local transit there is still no quality coach service, offering commuter friendly times and early morning access to Christchurch city and Christchurch International Airport from the south.

[see also October 2009 archives - Timaru to Christchurch in three Steps; also more recently, April 2010 Archives - Jumping off trains in Portsmouth

Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles

Despite the home of the car image, Los Angeles has been making big steps towards upgrading public transport, including this BRT system ( primarily on-street lanes and priority signals along the extended length of a main thoroughfare). The main revelance of this photo for me though is purely sentimental, as a city bus driver of "big red" buses (Christchurch Transport Board) this feels evocative of early evening rush hour. I drove late more than early and love the energyg of Friday and Saturday nights, despite the "crime" image 95% of people out enjoying themselves, loose and friendly! Two models of the larger capacity buses used for BRT services are visible in this L.A. street scene

Guided busway UK

Busways can be very attractive. Landscaping like this could make a corridor through St Albans a "green boulevard" from Northlands to city, for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. Potential - to carry half a million passengers a year or more. This would include a dedicated, all operating hours, all stops, 15 minute service (like Metrostar), and during peak hours additional buses, only stopping at stations at Northlands and Edgeware [pool site!] feeding in from northern suburbs and Rangiora etc. Running time from Northlands to first one-way cross street, approx 6 or 7 minutes.

Could trains in ChCh really fly ?

Melbourne airport, 24 million passengers a year (virtually the population of Christchurch flies in or out each week) workplace of thousands of workers. Yet studies show these numbers are insufficient to make a 5km rail connection (to nearest commuter line) viable. Linking Christchurch into a commuter rail loop (circular route pattern) serving multiple other residential, industrial and recreational zones might just give our small city (and by same connection our province) a rare edge to go where bigger cities and Auckland and Wellington can not go. Photo Melbourne airport bus.

NZ In Tranzit

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Designline, More than bus factory jobs may go

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