NZ In Tranzit

"As any form of rapid transit needs clear conduits - unimpeded flow across many kilometres - it inevitably involves identification of routes years in advance" Environment Canterbury is about to launch a revamp of Christchurch buses. Essentially it is a bus system designed by the Government not the two Councils in Christchurch. Government policy has effectively dictated that public transport is low priority in Christchurch, that a conventional bus system is good enough for New Zealand's third (grade) city and, despite the ever growing congestion, that rapid transit (i.e on exclusive corridors)  is not even on the books. In fact bus services to some areas are being removed to comply with Government demands of meeting a farebox recovery of 50%. This over-riding of the city's future needs has only been possible because the huge vacuum in effective leadership in public transport issues that Christchurch has suffered across the last decade. Had we had a "L...

Despite attractive new Metro marketing and an impressive new post quake central bus station being built Christchurch continues to blither around in the appalling incompetence which has long marked public transport planning in this city. Yep - Christchurch still misses the bus, train and everything else! Any city worth its salt must look at making public transport work effectively, and the core of planning is a "rapid transit plan". This is the technology and land use to attract and move large numbers of commuters quickly from home areas to major employment zones. Auckland's whole multi-billion public transport system is based around a rapid transit plan put together in 1995. They worked out where they needed to go and a step by step plan to get there. This consisted of four rail corridors (including a de facto loop around the central isthmus) and a segregated busway up the North side of the Harbour. Over the last 20 years Auckland's confident approach has won s...

Labour and Greens are pushing for a $100 million dollar rail plan for Christchurch . I can't believe these guys don't do enough research to know this is nonsense, you don't get quality safe public transport over the distances involved, city to Rangiora and city to Rolleston  - at that sort of price. The idea of using the ramshackle, tired, third hand diesel units  of Auckland commuter rail  as the primary rolling stock is a particularly poor joke. Auckland has spent/is spending billions of dollars on commuter rail - Wellington has spent around $700 million on upgrading the rail system in the area - mostly specifically on the commuter rail system (including $188 million just on the Matangi electric units) - get real ! $100 million won't buy shit. Or rather it will. Why not believe in Canterbury and create realistic policies with grunt???  Christchurch deserves - just on a pro-rata basis alone - spending of at least $300 million worth of quality rail developmen...

Ramped access, door level loading, full veranda shelter, on busway system in Mexico   Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury are planning a new Riccarton Super Stop to reduce travel times on the city’s busiest bus route I have campaigned for 36 years to get decent public transport.  I still vomit when I see such nonsensical bullshit as this.. Super stop?? As far as I can see this is just a bus shelter with a slightly enclosed bay  - very much like the semi-enclosed bus shelters that used to be outside the public hospital or in The Square when I first arrived in Christchurch in 1970. Except more glass.  Back to the 1950s?? ... reduced travel times - ....come on !! How does creating a often crowded bus stop on a busy arterial "increase travel times" in any significant way.  What utter nonsense   All the genuinely fast bus services in the world nowadays are being built on exclusive busways, not pissing around in the odd hop...

Unlike regional councils in other areas ECan takes no responsibility for supporting or enhancing regional public transport systems, or addressing the environmental issue that it is the longest car journeys that do the most damage in global atmospheric conditions. There is no effective region wide commuter system at all, and no effective Riccarton bus interchange (for cross town links) that incorporates long distance services - as is obvious from the Intercity coach drop-off point above! NOTE This blog was originally posted on January 29 2010; it upgraded and amended, with all photos added January 24  2014 A couple of months back I suggested that Environment Canterbury had created reasonably effective services to some parts of the greater Christchurch metropolitan area (Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Lincoln etc) but seemed to pay no regard to regional services.  Over 30 million Government dollars have been funnelled into Wellington's regional rail links to the Wair...