The numbers are in and public transport patronage in Greater Christchurch in 2025 ended up almost exactly the same as 2024.
People caught the bus 14.9 million times, which is a just perceptible 0.8% reduction from 2024’s 15.0 million.
It was a year of two halfs though, with strong patronage through the early months, followed by a weakening in later in the year
A few relevant changes that occurred in 2025 are:
- Fares were increased: In July fares increased by around 50% (standard 1-zone adult fare rose from $2 to $3). This followed a previous increase from temporarily being $1 through the covid years. The increase was essentially mandated by central government, to enable them to fund their new motorways. It’s hard to be definitive, but my gut feel is that this cost increase would’ve had a significant impact on patronage. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that patronage started weakening about the same time that fares went up.
- Route 7 was improved: In April, frequency was lifted from a bus every 15 minutes, to a bus every 10 minutes on the popular Route 7. This has already resulted in a 7% increase in passengers using this route.
- More Rolleston buses: More direct buses taking people between Rolleston and Christchurch were introduced in August, using an interesting public-private partnership funding model – the jury’s still out on whether this model has been a success or not.
- Pets allowed: From 1 December small pets were allowed on public transport, subject to conditions. I’m not sure this would have had any measurable impact on patronage but probably a good thing.
- Bike racks reinstated: In November Simeon Brown banned people from using the bike racks on the front of buses. This nonsensical decision took until May to get overturned. Similarly the impact on patronage would have been small, but still annoying for people.
- Contactless payment: In November contactless payment (paywave, credit card, phone, watch) become an option for passengers. This is well overdue and makes catching the bus much more attractive to people who are not regulars bus riders, such as tourists.
All things considered, it’s somewhat encouraging we didn’t see a complete hollowing out of public transport use, given the significant increase in bus fares and minimal investment into improvements.
The new Minister of Transport, Chris Bishop, will be releasing his new policy statement on land transport in April. He’s far more intelligent than Simeon Brown was and I think everyone’s expecting a much more balanced funding approach, with public transport back on the agenda again and some of the more unaffordable motorway projects trimmed back a little.
If Christchurch public transport can hold on for one more year without taking too much damage from Wellington, I think we’ll be through the worst of it and can start looking forward to better things again.
TALKING TRANSPORT 