Commuting Chaos for Rolleston

A little bit of old news (I was supposed to post this days ago) but last week there was a very interesting article in the Selwyn Times. Of course this is just the local rag so it must be taken for what it is but it did seem to give a good indication of the mood of Rolleston residents towards transport policy. Basically, as Rolleston continues to grow, the percentage of the population that works in Christchurch continues to increase. The 2008 population estimate for Rolleston was about 7000, up significantly from 3822 recorded in the 2006 census. The article reported that residents should get used to increased congestion on the commute into Christchurch, something which I would agree with. The total population of Rolleston is expected to reach about 15 000 sometime around 2015 from memory and with cheap land, a strong Canterbury/Christchurch economy and subsequent continued high internal migration from other parts of New Zealand I don't even see the recession slowing this growth down (in fact I think you could argue that in the long term it could increase population growth).

Anyway, what was most interesting about this article was that a couple of locals who both seemed to be of the opinion that the local bus service wasn't good enough and that the nature of a bus service for such a long commute wasn't at all appealing. Both locals interviewed claimed that they would use a regular rail service if there was one, so long as it was frequent and took full advantage of it's right of way by getting them into the city quicker. One of the interviewees claimed if it could be done in twenty minutes he would most definitely use it.

I take two things from this article. First, no matter what Ecan claims, their bus service simply isn't good enough. Where is park and ride? Where is cycle and ride? Where is a modern bus station with information and shelter from winter weather? Where are bus lanes? Where is the frequency? No wonder no one uses it.

Second, local authorities are blind. There is a perfectly good double track rail line running from Rolleston to the city. Heck there is even a station and car park. Yet despite hundreds of submission the 'Rolleston Transport and Environs' study for ignoring the potential of rail in reducing car use between Selwyn and Christchurch. The prevailing opinion is that rail will not be worthwhile until Rollestons population reaches 50 000 yet this is unsubstantiated and ignorant. In my mind, 15 000 is just as likely a threshold for the success of some type of rail service being effective in increasing accessibility between Rolleston and Christchurch and it could be planned for now. Rail would be fast and have a flexible capacity. It fits park and ride like a glove (and park and ride fits Rolleston like a glove), is more comfortable, and could provide seamless transfers to the bus system at Hornby and Addington to other parts of the city. As well as Rolleston it could also serve Templeton and Isllington and would have a schedule of between 20 and 30 minutes from Rolleston to the City (based on timetables from the 1960's!!!).

All in all it is little wonder that public transport is under utilised and marginal in Selwyn. Ecan rely on a bus service designed for short commutes in a built up city in a bid to entice people out of their cars when, in reality, any public transport needs to be adapted to the nature of the areas it operates in. This should be simple, easy, yet they fail due to ignorance. The argument that no one uses public transport or that public transport in these areas doesn't work is just ridiculous when they haven't even developed it for the area in mind. I have pointed out time and again the obvious measures that need to be adopted to make public transport work in Selwyn and I have pointed out many again. When will some one listen?