NZ In Tranzit

City bus routes don't get more spectacular than the alpine style road to Governors Bay (in distance) ....but does the new Metro bus route starting in January join up all the dots to best advantage - the wabbit thinks not. Photo NZ in Tranzit In 2003 I wrote a social history of the CTB - appropriately called "CTB" Called what?? Anyone outside Christchurch or indeed any local resident under 35 years of age probably has no idea to what these three letters refer. So the cover of "CTB" also carried a by-line "A brief social history of the Christchrch Transport Board 1903-1989 (until 1951 - Christchurch Tramway Board"). It was written as a social history of the people, politics and flavour of the times because the physical and technical history - of the trams and routes etc had already been written in great depth in a series of publications the CTB itself had commissioned in the 1980s using a Government employment scheme to help fund research co...

Metro is currently hoping to establish a bus service to Governors Bay , a pocket of housing at the top of the Lyttelton Harbour, currently only serviced by a school bus, up and down the steep hill road to the nearest city high school. This will involve all residents paying a separate transport rate on the regional council rates, as do most urban areas in Christchurch and adjoining districts already. It is by no means certain it will go ahead, relying upon local agreement. I have driven over that spectacular steep, hairpin road about 900 times in my life, as a "two half day tours a day" city sightseeing bus driver and commentator so it does feel very familiar territory to me. Needless to say I couldn't resist sticking my twitchy rabbity nose into the issue! The spectacular alpine style Dyers Pass Road  linking Governors Bay and the top of Lyttelton Harbour with the city Below I share my submission with the world at large - u...

NZ in Tranzit - suspicious of what is going in Christchurch! Destined to be a very rare image for busspotters. The 740 service at the Ohinetahi Terminus, on the short-lived Governors  Bay-Cashmere Road run, about to depart early February 2011 Last year the National Government instituted a fairly tough fare-box  recovery requirement for public transport authorities in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. This requires 50% of operating costs to be met by fares paid by passengers. How this 50% is defined  - whether per route or across the network averaged out is not set out - indeed in the NZ Transport Agency statement of May 28th last year it implies that it is up to each regional council to determine this NZTA Regional Partnerships and Planning Group Manager Dave Brash says the policy agreed by the NZTA’s Board in April requires all regional councils to set their own farebox recovery policies and ratios by 1 January 2012 as part of their Regional Public ...

Out bound buses loading at Northlands Mall, Christchurch July 2010. Immediately before the arrival of these buses several children on skate board,  an elderly lady, and a young family with a child in a pushchair and another three or four year old held by the hand all had to walk out onto the road itself , and along gutter area the the path of incoming buses, to get past the large group of children and other bus patrons blocking the footpath. NZ in Tranzit suggests part of car park needs be purchased to give adequate room and shelter for patrons and safe through passage for pedestrians at this prime suburban exchange spot   Photo; David Welch Hey you can't say the loud-mouthed self opinionated dwatted wabbit isn't one hotshot journalist, he's so close behind the latest hot news its still positively steaming!!  Catch this report he just chased to ground, the inside story -   "Furthermore in the city centre, and pos...