Growing bus patronage set to challenge resourcing

Wednesday, 24 January 2024

Demand for buses is growing so rapidly, the authority in charge warns the region could run out of buses by the end of the year.

Selwyn’s population explosion has created a rush for bus seats - and a warning Canterbury could run out of buses by the end of the year.

Demand for the double-decker Darfield-central city express, which takes about 75 minutes, has doubled in four years.

And as of this week, the direct routes from Rolleston and Lincoln to central Christchurch (about 45 minutes and 50 minutes respectively) each have an additional bus trip each way to cope with the pressure.

Last year, a Rolleston bus user told The Press they sometimes drove to Darfield for a better chance of getting a seat on the bus compared to getting on at Rolleston.

It comes as Transport Minister Simeon Brown hints light rail might be off the table for Canterbury, and equivocates on funding for New Zealand Upgrade Programme projects, including the long awaited $90 million Brougham St upgrade, which would add dedicated bus, carpool and motorcycle lanes to improve the gridlock motorists regularly encounter on exiting the Christchurch Southern Motorway.

“We’ve got a Darfield bus - a double decker - and it’s full. What are you going to do about that? Get another bus? Well, it takes a while,” Environment Canterbury (ECan) chairperson Peter Scott said.

The “really good increase” in patronage on the city’s buses was especially visible for those travelling to and from satellite towns in Selwyn and Waimakariri, he said.

Selwyn’s bus routes - direct routes to Lincoln (81), Rolleston (85) and Darfield (86), the Lincoln to Southbridge (87) and Lincoln to Burnham (820) between 2019 and 2023.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we run out of buses by the end of the year.”

He vowed to advocate for Canterbury’s transport needs with the new Government.

ECan figures show use of the once-a-day 86 bus - an express service from Darfield to the city, stopping at Kirwee and West Melton - had 686 boardings in October 2019, which more than doubled to 1525 by October 2023.

West Melton resident Elizabeth Constance says the route 86 Darfield to Christchurch bus is an “excellent service”, but she hopes extra trips can be added.

West Melton resident Elizabeth Constance catches the Darfield bus, and said numbers had significantly increased recently.

“It’s always packed with kids in the morning, but there’s been an increase in adults as well. It only goes once a day, so it’s a captive audience.”

Usually a double decker, the number 86 is generally downgraded to a normal bus during school holidays when demand drops, a council spokesperson says.

She wished the bus was more frequent, and said it made for a very long day if you only wanted to run a few errands in town.

Fellow West Melton resident Ricky Van Olphen uses the 86 about four times a week to avoid parking costs in the city, and said a later departure from the current 4pm from the city would be preferable.

An ECan spokesperson said there were no plans to increase the frequency of the service.

The bus fleet size is 284, but an ECan spokesperson said there was “no specific number or target for the number of vehicles”.

These figures show bus patronage on the Rolleston - New Brighton (5) and Lincoln - Parklands (80) (both of which service customers across the city)<em id= — These figures show bus patronage on the Rolleston - New Brighton (5) and Lincoln - Parklands (80) (both of which service customers across the city) as well as the direct Lincoln - City (81), Rolleston - City (85) and Darfield - City (86), the Lincoln to Southbridge (87) and Lincoln to Burnham (820).

While bus patronage in some areas is rising steeply, overall it has yet to recover to pre-Covid numbers - though figures from July to December 2023 suggest it is on track to this financial year.

Scott said the region’s mayors were “reasonably joined up in terms of trying to get some of these things done”.

He said all councils were on tenterhooks waiting for the Government Policy Statement on Transport, and it had long been signalled the National Land Transport Fund was running low.

ECan chairperson Peter Scott warns Canterbury transport projects are predicated on getting central government funding.

“How do you make sure there’s enough in the system to do what we want to do here? Rail and coastal shipping are also funded out of that … There’s a lot of hands in that bucket.”

The region’s councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency have been working for several years on a project to add buses, infrastructure, and connectivity, as well as some form of mass rapid transit to aid urban development in Christchurch - whether it be light rail, dedicated buses or a tram system, he said.

“It’s all predicated on the fact that central government have to be behind this. It’s a massive hunk of money - it’s not Auckland money, but it’s significantly serious South Island money, like $2.5 billion at this point.”

Commuters get on the bus at the Kidman St bus stop in Rolleston. An additional trip has been added in the morning and afternoon as of this week to cope with demand on the non-stop service. (File photo)

He thought Brown’s comments that “light rail is not something that is being actively considered at this stage” could hinge on whether it was being considered right now.

“That ‘actively’ word is interesting. We’re not actively considering anything at the moment because we’re going through a process and we don’t know what the options are going to be.”

Scott also brushed off concerns about Brown’s refusal to commit to other roading projects, such as the Brougham St upgrade.

The popularity of the once-a-day Darfield to Christchurch express bus has increased swiftly, more than doubling its patronage in the last three years.

“That’s what happens when governments change.”

“I’m not panicking about it. They understand what Christchurch requires because we’ve told them. But if the cash isn’t there, the cash isn’t there, we’ll just have to work our way through it.”

Scott said the region was “underfunded on a whole lot of things”.

“We’ll give these guys a chance to get themselves sorted out, then we’ll have a crack. We won’t be going away.”

In the meantime, the Government has indicated it will progress the National Ticketing Solution (NTS), with ECan to be the first to introduce the public transport payment card in 2024. Scott said a hoped-for mid-year introduction was “ambitious”.

Other authorities will introduce it by the end of 2026.

In October, ECan approved another $600,000 to roll out the scheme.

It has also approved up to $500,000 over two years for work on the business case to returnpublic transport assets to public ownership.

However, Scott was wary of making too many changes.

“We’re talking about patronage getting to the stage where we might not have enough buses, and the NTS coming into play. We don’t want to try and do too much at once.”