A better way to commute for Waimakariri residents

This consultation was held in Nov-Dec 2019, thank you to all who provided feedback.

What's being considered?

Direct commuter buses from Rangiora and Kaiapoi to central Christchurch are being considered for when the Christchurch Northern Corridor opens.

The new carpool lanes, at the Tram Road on-ramp and on the Christchurch Northern Corridor, will allow direct buses to skip congestion, particularly across the Waimakariri Bridge. Taking the bus would also save you money otherwise spent on petrol and parking, be more environmentally friendly by reducing emissions, and give you back some time in your day.

Simply put, we envisage these services making the commute stress-free.

Public consultation and feedback

Consultation ran from Monday 11 November until Sunday 8 December 2019. Overall support for the proposal was positive, and planning and design of the services will now begin. Here's a summary of the feedback:

• 405 submissions were received from Waimakariri district ratepayers and/or residents. A further 65 responses were received from people who don’t live or pay rates in the Waimakariri district, and they have not been included in the statistics reported here.
• Most respondents either fully agreed (56%), or agreed with suggestions or concerns (30%), with the concept of introducing direct commuter bus services, supported by Park & Ride locations.
• In response to the question of partly funding the proposed services through a targeted rate increase, 51% of respondents supported the higher increase of $30 for urban properties and $10 for rural properties annually, providing for four morning trips and five afternoon trips from both Rangiora and Kaiapoi. Only 14% preferred the lower rate increase, allowing for less trips, and 35% didn’t support either option.
• A significant portion of submitters who didn’t agree with the proposal, or didn’t agree with the rate increase, suggested the services be fully user-pays. It’s important to note that public transport across New Zealand is funded by a combination of central government grants, fares from users, and targeted local rates. It needs to be structured this way in order to access central government grants. If there is not sufficient contribution from rates, it is unlikely we would be able to receive central government funding for the service.
• There was strong support overall for the proposed Park & Ride locations, with 70% fully agreeing, and 20% agreeing with suggestions or concerns.
• Suggestions for alternative Park & Ride locations were made, including Woodend, Pegasus, Silverstream, Kaiapoi North and Tram Road. The aim is to utilise and improve existing facilities where possible in the short-term, but it is possible that new sites could be required in the future as demand increases, and as growing centres in other parts of the district, such as Woodend and Pegasus, develop further.

The full consultation feedback analysis is available under 'Important documents' on the right hand side of the page.

Based on the feedback from the community, planning for the Park & Ride services and direct commuter buses will go ahead, based on the funding option of a higher targeted rate increase for a more frequent bus service. Final funding approval was completed as part of Environment Canterbury’s 2020-21 Annual Plan process.

When will the new services start?

The new services, called 91 Rangiora to City direct and 92 Kaiapoi to City direct, will start on Monday 11 January 2021. Travel will free for the first two weeks. Normal Metro fares will apply from Monday 25 January 2021. See the timetables now. More information about the Park & Ride facilities is available at waimakariri.govt.nz/park-and-ride.