Public transport in Christchurch, New Zealand is mainly by bus services operated by three bus companies and jointly marketed as Metro. Christchurchs public transport system served as backdrop for Tim Veling's 2006 book "Red Bus Diary", in which the author toured the city on public buses and complied the stories of the people he met.

The Shuttle

The Shuttle is a zero-fare shuttle service in the inner city. http://www.metroinfo.org.nz/docs/Shuttle_web.pdf Its hybrid buses which are battery powered, using a small natural gas fuelled turbine engine to keep the battery charged, produce less air pollution than normal diesel buses. The Shuttle's fleet of (yellow) hybrid buses is operated by Red Bus Ltd and the service is funded by Christchurch City Council.

Suburban bus operators

Red Bus

Red Bus Ltd operate most routes radiating from the central city exchange to the inner suburbs:

• 3 - Avonhead - Sumner
• 5 - Hornby - Southshore
• 7 - Halswell
• 10 - Cashmere - Airport Via Harewood
• 12 - Northwood
• 14 - Nunweek
• 16 - Belfast
• 17 - Bryndwr - Barrington
• 18 - St Albans - Huntsbury
• 19 - Burnside - Spreydon
• 28 - Lyttleton, Rapaki
• 40 - New Brighton Via Wainoni
• 46 - The Palms Via Shirley
• 49 - Northshore
• 51 - New Brighton Via Aranui
• 67 - Dyers Pass
• 81 - Lincoln Direct
• 83 - Hei Hei - Burwood
• 84 - Russley - Avondale
• 520 - Burnham
• 521 - Templeton

Red Bus also operates

• The Shuttle inner city hybrid electric bus
• After Midnight Express night service
• City Flyer airport service
• Metrostar cross-suburban service

Leopard Coachlines

Leopard Coachlines operate these services:

• The Orbiter circuit of Christchurch city
• 21 - Ilam - Mt Pleasant
• 24 - Hyde Park - Bromley
• 35 - Heathcote through to Lytttleton
• 66 - Murray Aynsley

Christchurch Bus Services

Christchurch Bus logo

• 11 - Styx Mill- Westmorland
• 13 - Redwood - Hoon Hay / Halswell
• 15 - Northland / Bishopdale - Bowenvale
• 60 - New Brighton via Parklands
• 70 - Queenspark
• 518 - Lincoln - Hornby Shuttle
• - Northern Star 90 Rangiora Direct
• - Northern Star 92 Rangiora via Waiuku
• - Northern Star 912 Woodend Shuttle
• - Northern Star 913 Woodend Shuttle via Waiuku
• 480 - Palms - Kainga Shuttle (Continues to Kaiapoi on Saturday)

Other transport services

Christchurch Tramway

Christchurch Brill Tram No 178 on the heritage tramway

Christchurch Tramway Ltd http://www.tram.co.nz/ operates a one-way tram circuit of the central city. This is mainly marketed as a tourist attraction, but is available to local commuters with an annual season ticket. Trams were originally introduced to Christchurch in 1905, ceased operating in 1954,^[1] and returned to the newly-built inner city loop in 1995, mainly as a tourist attraction.

Diamond Harbour Ferry

A ferry connects the suburb of Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour, a settlement on the opposite side of Lyttelton Harbour. Ferries first began crossing Lyttelton Harbour in 1888.

Taxis

Airport transport

Christchurch International Airport is served by buses and shuttle vans.

• Red Bus Ltd operates the City Flyer and the number 10 bus (Harewood - Cashmere) from the central city to the Airport.

• Shuttle vans provided by several operators, including most taxi companies, provide door-to-door transport to and from the Airport.

Rail

Commuter rail service was discontinued in the 1970s, while long distance rail travel (by Tranz Scenic) has been scaled back to just TranzCoastal and TranzAlpine

Organising public transport in Christchurch

The local bus service (with the exception of The Shuttle) is marketed as Metro and designed, specified, put out to tender and subsidised by Environment Canterbury. Christchurch City Council provides roading infrastructure and street furniture such as signs and seats and regulates parking at bus stops, and is also owner of Red Bus Ltd. The city council also fully funds the zero-fare The Shuttle service. Vehicle safety standards are regulated by Land Transport New Zealand.

References

1. ↑ A Wheel on Each Corner, The History of the IPENZ Transportation Group 1956-2006 - Douglass, Malcolm; IPENZ Transportation Group, 2006, Page 12

External links

• Red Bus website
• Metro website
• Diamond Harbour ferry website

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