Students raise safety concerns
Plans to close two popular bus lounges in Christchurch will put people’s safety at risk, the city’s civic leaders have been told.
The proposal to close the Riccarton Rd bus lounges has been labelled ‘‘bizarre’’ by residents, who want Christchurch City Council to keep them open.
The council said the closure would save about $600,000 annually, including a $300,000 subsidy from Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency.
Bus lounges are not provided anywhere else in the city.
Christchurch Youth Council executive member Bryant McIntyre said the closure was a contentious topic that affected a lot of youth, especially girls aged between 12 to 16 who often got harassed on the bus.
‘‘The removal is going to affect them. What are you going to do to ensure their safety?,’’ he asked councillors this week during a public hearing on the council’s 10-year budget, the long-term plan.
University of Canterbury Students’ Association president Kim Fowler said a survey, filled out by 704 students, found 92 per cent were opposed to closing the Riccarton Rd bus lounges.
She said many students worked at Westfield Mall and did not have cars, so used the bus to get home at night. ‘‘It’s quite unsafe if they are forced to wait outside.’’
One respondent said the lounges offered a safe place for her to wait for a bus at night.
Many students were frustrated the council wanted to cut something that affected their safety, while being happy to spend money on other more insignificant things.
The bus lounges had attracted criticism since their inception in late 2015 for being a hotspot for violence and drugs, but Fowler said she did not receive any feedback from students that they felt unsafe there.
David Maclure, who uses the bus lounges regularly, told councillors he did not understand why
the council wanted to close them because they provided a lot of benefit to the community.
‘‘It’s a really beautiful space. It’s a safe space at night when it’s cold, and it’s good to be able to get into the warm.’’
He said he could see such a facility being used even more in the future.
Scott Franicevic, of the Waimakariri Labour Electorate Committee, said closing the bus lounge was ‘‘bizarre’’ and it appeared the council was unsure of its strategy priorities.
The council had declared a climate emergency, but was proposing to cut infrastructure designed to encourage the use of public transport. ‘‘They just don’t seem to go together.’’
Hearings are scheduled to continue for another week, by which time councillors are likely to have heard from 320 residents and organisations. About 2300 people and organisations had their say on the 10-year budget through written submissions.