Seventy-six-year-old Pam Williams has been gathering signatures on a petition to get a bus route restored to her Aranui suburb. Photo: Rachel Graham / RNZ
An Aranui local in Christchurch said a lack of any bus routes through their suburb is leaving elderly and disabled people feeling stuck in their homes.
The suburb, which has a low median income and high levels of people reporting disabilities, has had no bus services since the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.
One local has started a campaign to bring back the buses.
Before 2011, a bus route ran through the heart of Aranui, winding its way down the suburban roads. That was stopped after the earthquakes, when the regional council focused bus routes on the main roads - Pages Road and Wainoni Road - on either side of the suburb.
Long-time Aranui resident Pam Williams said many in the area had disabilities and couldn't make the long trek to the nearest bus stop.
"There's about 5000 people in this community between Wainoni and Pages Road. A high percentage of them are elderly, with walking frames and the like.
"We can taxi, but [the bus route] would open up the whole area up. We are all stuck in our homes here."
At 76, Pam can't drive, due to health issues, and said her breathing difficulties made the 700m walk to the closest bus stop impossible.
"I can catch a taxi down to get my groceries, and then I have to send him away and get another one home. It's all stress."
Stats NZ figures show the median income for adults in Aranui is $29,100 compared to $41,500 for New Zealand as a whole. It also has a higher percentage of those who are physically disabled.
After the earthquakes, some Aranui schools were closed and Haeata Community Campus, which goes from Year 1 to 13, was opened.
Haeata principal Peggy Burrows said the lack of bus access was a huge issue for students, as many families didn't drive or didn't own a car.
She said it was a real equity issue that needed to be addressed.
On the streets of Aranui, locals told RNZ Morning Report they were keen to see the bus return.
One local said many elderly people who couldn't drive found it difficult to get to medical appointments, so on several occasions, she has needed to transport people.
Williams has started a petition calling for the return of the bus route and has gathered more than 750 signatures, but said many in the community felt the area was so often overlooked for services that there was no hope of getting the route back.
Christchurch East's Labour MP Reuben Davidson said there was clearly demand for public transport in Aranui, but currently, the stops were so far away that many couldn't make use of it.
"A lengthy walk, and in winter or in the dark, early in the morning, that is something that people either aren't able to do or don't want to have to do, and shouldn't have to do to catch a bus in or out of Aranui.
"We have buses that pass down Wainoni Road, down Pages Road, and all Pam is asking for - and the community is right behind her - is let's deviate those buses, not every time, but maybe on the hour, to provide a service up Hampshire Street."
Environment Canterbury public transport general manager Stewart Gibbon said the council acknowledged the community wanted greater public transport access in the suburb.
"The [2011] earthquake caused substantial disruption and impact on public transport in Christchurch resulting in significantly reduced revenues. The entire network was rationalised down due to economic constraints. This impacted several communities, including Aranui. In the case of Aranui, this meant higher frequency services along Wainoni Road and Pages Road," Gibbon said.
"We do try to serve as much of the community we can, but with limited funding we are required to focus on services that will maximise patronage and deliver the most direct service for the greatest number of people.
"A review of our Greater Christchurch network is set to be undertaken over the next year, which will result in the development of a business case that recommends improvements over the short to medium term. This will be designed with the community to better reflect demand.
"All network changes and improvements rely on funding contributions from central government. The earliest and next opportunity to apply for additional central government funding to support service improvements on our network will be during the next National Land Transport Programme budget review in the October 2026 to May 2027 period."
Williams said she was continuing to collect signatures to boost her plea to the council, but her lack of mobility was holding her back.
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