A quick snapshot of travel trends today
People in Greater Christchurch love their cars. With the highest rate of car ownership in New Zealand (709 cars for every 1,000 residents compared to the national average of 700 per 1,000), residents make 85% of all trips in private cars.
Travel in solitary confinement. 60% of residents drive to work (compared to 40% in Wellington) and in 19 out of 20 cars travelling to work there is a single occupant.
Car travel is growing at 2.5% per annum. As the number of households increases so too does the number of cars per household, with many having three or more cars (often one for each inhabitant).
More trucks, more often. Road-based freight is growing at 3.5% per annum and freight movements are expected to double by 2040.
Out of the cradle and into the car. 34% of morning peak travel is education related, with over half the children at primary school being driven there by car, with similar numbers being driven or driving to secondary school.
Cars still win over buses. 4% of residents travel to work by bus (compared to 14% Wellington and 7% Auckland). Of those people who live outside of Christchurch City and travel to work in Christchurch less than 1% travel by bus.
Figures are taken from a variety of sources including Christchurch City Council research, Statistics New Zealand, the Ministry of Transport and Ministry for the Environment.
Draft Greater Christchurch Travel Demand Management Strategy (GC TDMS) Key Statements
The way we travel needs to change if we are to keep our transport network flowing.
Our roads can carry more people if we travel differently – walking, cycling, public transport and car pooling.
Changing the way we travel will take time, and TDM actions coincide with infrastructure improvements to walking, cycling and public transport. There is not one quick fix solution, when places or work and where people live are so dispersed.
Walking and cycling are easy forms of exercise that can be part of everyday life – and can help people keep healthy. Encouraging more children to actively travel to school has so many benefits to our community (more eyes on our streets can make them safer).
The draft GC TDMS is part of a range of UDS Actions that will help keep our transport network flowing and help create better communities.