Candidate calls for better bus services

Providing safe, reliable public transport to those who can’t afford increasingly expensive petrol should be central to Christchurch’s public transport planning, says ECan candidate Ashley Campbell.

Campbell, who is standing for ECan in the Christchurch North East / Ōrei ward, says the current strategy for increasing bus services, known as Public Transport Futures, doesn’t factor socio-economic need into its planning.

But residents of lower-income suburbs such as Aranui, Wainoni, Bromley and New Brighton are hit hardest by increasing petrol prices, have little or no access to safe cycleways, and need much better public transport choices.

“The preferred option for increasing public transport use in Christchurch focuses on the central city, within the Orbiter route as its first priority,” says Campbell.  

“The plan is to then improve services to outlying towns such as Lincoln, Rolleston, Rangiora and Kaiapoi before improving services to lower-income suburbs within Christchurch. Many residents of these suburbs can’t afford to keep paying rising petrol costs but don’t have any other transport choice.

“With more than half of Christchurch’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from transport, improving bus patronage is urgent,” says Campbell. “But we also need to offer real alternatives to those who can’t afford to keep paying for petrol. We need to do both at the same time.”

Campbell says improving services to lower-income suburbs also means improving safety for passengers.

“I was shocked when I asked people from the east about what would make them more likely to take a bus, and several said they just didn’t feel safe.

“Some said they had seen, or even experienced violence, others mentioned passengers being allowed on to a bus when they were clearly drunk and carrying open cans or bottles of alcohol.

“I expected the comments about unreliability, busses taking too long, or not going where people wanted to go, but the fears about safety were a real surprise,” she said. “Clearly this needs to improve. Public transport isn’t a choice if you don’t feel safe.”

Reinstating peak-time express services from outlying suburbs such as New Brighton would also encourage higher bus patronage. “Several mentioned the express service that operated before the earthquakes, and said they wished it was still running.”