NZ In Tranzit

"I have come to realise many of the best bus route options can not be built with current technology and town planning principles."  Bus routes often need to follow arterial routes and can often only access or cross these routes at major intersections with traffic lights and congestion. David Welch argues that many other routes could better by-pass congestion and serve a larger population base more effectively if buses could enter or cross arterial roads by a system requiring a minimal pause in the arterial flow, with this access limited to buses.  The following idea has been sent to the Minister of Transport, Julie Genter who in theory, anyway, should be keen on giving public transport the green light! REHASH - This item first published 9/6/2012 I spend a lot of my life working out possible bus routes.  It is a rather odd habit seeing as I am not a bus planner. Indeed I not even a very logical thinker, which can add considerably to the task. But, as they say, w...

Parramatta Road, Sydney - Wikimedia Commons Yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald announced that the city's master transport plan is looking at a new route structure that will see many passengers having to transfer to make city-to-suburb journeys.  It is a chop and change system that appears similar to that now clearly being implemented in Christchurch, despite great public concern (not that you'd know it from the city newspapers).    In Sydney's case the long term proposal is to serve central city areas with high frequency buses linking at CBD boundary area interchanges to suburban routes. Part of the Sydney problem is there are 1500 buses a morning trying to thread through congested city streets (and of course adding to congestion themselves). To quote the Herald report; "This is how the master plan puts it: "The current radial one-seat bus service network, which attempts to provide single-service bus transport from many ori...

Threading through one of the many road and sewerage repair sites in post-quake Christchurch may be difficult but arguably not as hard as sifting spin and bullshit from the political sector! Currently I feel like a cat who has had a large plate of something that might be meat put in front of him or her, and is sort of circling it, sniffing it, poking it tentatively with its paw, all in all - extremely suspicious! I refer to the recent announcement that the National Government was going to invest $130 million into Christchurch public transport over the next three years. This is part of a three year package of $12.3 billion for a wide range of transport projects around New Zealand.  This amount is being met by increased fuel taxes and road user charges and about 25% by local ratepayers. As Canterbury has 15% of the country's population and contributes a similar amount of taxation and the highest rate of car ownership, one might expect about 15% of that amount - $1.84 billion -...

Press Release: New Zealand Transport Agency – Southern region The NZ Transport Agency has announced an investment of approximately $1billion in Canterbury’s transport system over the next three years through the 2012/15 National Land Transport programme, that sees major investments in Christchurch’s roads of national significance projects, public transport and repairs to quake damaged transport infrastructure. This programme follows the direction outlined in the Government Policy Statement on land transport funding (GPS), with a focus on creating transport solutions that will support economic growth and productivity, improve safety, provide people with a range of transport choices and deliver the best possible value for money. The NZTA’s Regional Director for the Southern region Jim Harland, says between $130 and $180m is expected to be invested for each of the next three years of the 2012-15 National Land Transport Programme in emergency works in response to earthquake recovery ...

Christchurch bus usage continues to increase as the city recovers. One effect of rises in oil prices may  stimulate an even faster recovery   Photo; NZ in Tranzit I recently came across this interesting comment about the likely effect of oil price rises and reduced driving upon public transport, in an article written by Tod Litman, an executive director of the Victoria Transit Policy Institute , a well respected, independent, institute for researching transport based in Canada. Writing of the upsurge in public transport usage in reference to North America Tod said (the bit that caught my eye most) Most public transit systems are now experiencing severe peak period crowding which discourages some potential transit users and perpetuates the impression that public transit is an uncomfortable and inferior form of transport. This occurs because small reductions in vehicle traffic cause proportionately larger increases in public transit demand. Currently, about 98%...

Wellington's Airport Flyer - despite commuter rail from Hutt Valley to Wellington city, this NZ Bus Ltd service shows a quality bus service can win patrons - so much so a year or two back there were squawks about the amount of travellers using Gold Cards (free pensioner travel outside peak hours) to access Wellington and the Public Hospital via the Airport Flyer costing the taxpayer too much. Despite appearance could this bus be green - indeed far greener than light rail! NZ in Tranzit suspects as much!   Photo NZ in Tranzit 2010 An editorial in Wellington's main newspaper, the Dominion Post, Buses the way to get city moving has dismissed outright the fantasy of light rail through the business area of central Wellington.  This is one of three options, reported here, up for considerations by the City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and NZ Transport  to improve the central public transport spine from from railway station to the public hospital in Newto...

Why not? Post quake tourism  as Redbus drives it latest bus * on a tour through the "Red Zone" (photo actually through security netting, enlarged) past the remnant core of the former Bus Exchange** .  I have the deepest sympathy with those who died in the quake and their families - nothing can ever remove the vast unfairness and utter horror of this.  But for those who survive, what stupidity it would be not to look deeply - as deeply as possible -  upon this huge damage,  to better know the humble place of humanity in this huge universe, and in the scheme of things. And also take greater care to build cities stronger, stronger and stronger than ever. If anyone visits Christchurch why not share what we have been through, see how powerful the world beneath us all can be? All of which has precious little to do with this posting except to provide a eye catching photo and introduce the possibilities now inherent in combining the latest in quality bus tech...