Transport habits could be speed bump
Transport experts say the Government’s new carbon-cutting plan won’t be enough to get Christchurch commuters out of cars, with tantalising parking options offering too much carrot and not enough stick.
Yesterday, the Government released its Emissions Reduction Plan – revealing how it aims to meet New Zealand’s first emissions budget.
Slashing transport emissions took a starring role, and with transport making up 54% of Christchurch’s emissions in 2019, it was expected to have far-reaching implications.
The Government wants 30% of cars, vans and utes to be fully electric by 2035, and will invest $569 million in a ‘cash-forclunker’ scheme to help low-income households afford cheaper, cleaner cars.
It also wants people travelling 20% fewer kilometres in vehicles by 2035, instead walking, cycling, or using public transport. The Budget on Thursday will include $350m for improvements like bus shelters and 100km of safe cycleways.
A nationwide public transport strategy will also be developed by 2025, with progress expected on Christchurch’s long-awaited mass rapid transit scheme.
ViaStrada transport engineers Axel Wilke and Glen Koorey said the initiatives were not enough for Christchurch to transform from a city of vehicle commuters.
‘‘Converting existing petrol [or] diesel vehicles to electric doesn’t solve a large part of the problem of reducing transport emissions – we actually need to reduce the amount of driving happening as well,’’ they said in a joint statement. ‘‘There need to be sticks to discourage people from driving cars, and carrots to encourage sustainable transport use.’’
Cycleways had to connect to places people actually wanted to go, they said, and link up to reliable public transport services – particularly for distant suburbs.
‘‘[One hundred kilometres] of safe cycleways – that’s actually quite pathetic for a national target. We would have nearly built that much in Christchurch alone over the last few years.’’
Christchurch was building cycling infrastructure that was ‘‘much too expensive’’, they said.
‘‘We should roll out the network much more quickly; Ferry Rd near Barbadoes St is a good model of how to get something onto the ground cheaply that is adequate.’’
Christchurch faced a unique barrier compared to Auckland or Wellington, as it had a huge amount of parking in the CBD, ‘‘much of it free or cheap’’. ‘‘That oversupply keeps prices for parking down and acts as a serious disincentive for people to consider other transport modes.’’
The plan hinted at possible future rebates for e-bikes, which Christchurch Electric Bicycles owner Daryl Warnock was ‘‘all for’’.
‘‘You get a lot of people saying they could buy a car for that price. If a subsidy was introduced, that could be the tipping point.’’
E-bikes were cleaner than even electric cars in terms of carbon produced during manufacturing and shipping processes, he said, let alone ongoing emissions.
Warnock had seen a ‘‘definite increase’’ in demand, and now sold about double the number of e-bikes than five years ago. ‘‘More people are wanting to commute on them, and more people are buying cargo bikes too, to run groceries or take kids to school.’’
Christchurch had long been a victim of urban sprawl, and Warnock said investment needed to target that.
‘‘If they do go ahead with rail, they absolutely need to make it easy for people to get their bikes on.’’
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said while more people walking, cycling and taking buses would be great for cities, it wasn’t feasible in the regions.
‘‘I’d like to see the detail on how that would work for a town with no public transport, and no plans to get a lot of public transport.’’
Locals commuted by necessity, he said, and while he was sure farmers would adopt electric utes when they could, they needed powerful vehicles capable of towing trailers and carrying loads.
Freight transport emissions were also to be cut 35% by 2035, but Brown said the region’s economy depended on moving produce from farms to ports.
‘‘Being an agricultural-based district ... we can’t reduce vehicle movements for milk moving off a farm.’’
The plan also talked about establishing ‘‘a high threshold for new investments to expand roads, including new highway projects’’, if the expansion didn’t meet emissions-related objectives.
That could put a dampener on the longmooted four-laning of State Highway 1 between Ashburton and Christchurch.
‘‘... The population [in Ashburton] is rising. There’ll be more cars on that road in the future, not less.’’