2024 Public Transport Patronage

The numbers are in and 2024 was a blockbuster year for public transport in Christchurch.

People caught the bus just over 15 million times, which is 15% more than in 2023 and more than any other year post-earthquake. 15 million is the type of number we used to see back in the heady days of the 2000s, when Christchurch was seen as a leading light with its public transport provision.

This rapid growth is unusual, with most other cities around New Zealand and the globe still seeing suppressed public transport use following covid and more working from home. I did see a post just this morning saying that apparently Wellington bus patronage has bounced back to record levels (here), but globally I think we’re still an outlier. I’m not entirely sure why Christchurch is bucking the trend, but some of the possible reasons I can think of that make us somewhat unique are:

• Earthquakes: despite them being 14 years ago now, we are still rebuilding. Only about three quarters of land in the central city has been rebuilt and there are still regular openings of new buildings. As activities continue their slow but steady drift from temporary locations in the ‘burbs back to the central city, you’d expect public transport usage to increase.
• A very low base: We had relatively low public transport use to begin with, so it’s a lot easier to grow from that.
• Fewer commuters: Christchurch’s public transport system is used less by commuters, and more by regular people doing their everyday travel, compared to Auckland’s and Wellington’s systems which both have a much greater proportion of commuters using them.
• Less work-from-home: Christchurch is a relatively compact city with 90% of the population living within 10km of the central city. We have relatively short commute times and there is evidence that this has contributed to a much stronger return of workers to their offices than what Wellington and Auckland have seen.

It’s not clear if the current growth trajectory will continue or not. If it were to continue at its current rate then the city would surpass the 2009 peak in the next couple of years. If you look closely at the rolling average graph there are some signs that growth might be beginning to slow down so it may take longer than that.

Whatever the reasons and whatever happens next, public transport growth is hugely positive for the city, the country and the world, and something worth celebrating!