Possibility of more buses on cruise ship days

Additional bus services during the eight days of cruise ship arrivals this season may still be possible for Lyttelton.

Environment Canterbury last week decided to explore options after cutting funding by $500,000 earlier this month to cope with cruise ship passengers wanting to reach Christchurch.

The decision sparked public outrage, which some say will lead to a return to chaotic, crowded streets as bus services struggle to cope with increased demand from tourists.

However, when the first ship of the season, the Diamond Princess, arrived earlier this month, most passengers traveled to the city on cruise lines rather than public buses.

ECan councilor Vicky Southworth tabled a motion at last week’s meeting, which passed unanimously, asking staff to explore additional public transport options during eight key days to minimize disruption.

According to the proposal, more buses will be used on route 8 over four days when students go for NCEA exams and large cruise ships arrive.

Days 20, 21, 25 and 26 November.

Additional buses may also be available when the Ovation of the Seas, a cruise ship capable of carrying more than 4,000 passengers, arrives on December 3 and 23 and March 12 and 29.

Ken Maynard, chair of the Lyttelton Community Association, and Andrea Davies, chair of the Sumner Community Association, spoke in favor of the proposal ahead of the council vote.

“It’s great that you guys can help with this problem,” Davis said.

“No one could have predicted this, but we are having problems getting children to school after exams.”

Maynard told councilors many cruise ships carry more passengers and crew than live in Lyttelton.

“The situation was intolerable and everyone in the city was grateful to ECan for the action taken for the 2023/24 season.”

He said Lyttelton was caught by surprise when, just seven days before the start of the season, ECan announced there was no funding for additional buses.

“We believe you (councillors) have a duty of care to us in Lyttelton and should restore additional services.”

Maynard told councilors Lyttelton was “lucky” last Monday and variable prices for shuttle buses and larger cruise ships could lead to chaos again without additional public transport.

Southworth also noted that Cashmere High School was closed last Monday, reducing pressure on the bus network around Lyttelton.

“We owe it to our community to at least look at what this is going to cost us,” Southworth told her fellow council members.

Maynard says the ideal option would be for taxpayers to not subsidize the extra buses at all and force cruise lines to pay for the transportation, but sees the proposal as a middle ground.

Lyttelton residents also raised their concerns about cruise ships and discussed how to deal with the issue in the long term at a recent community meeting.

The largely anti-cruise ship meeting, organized by Climate Liberation Aotearoa, took place before the Diamond Princess arrived in port.

Riccarton District Councilor Tayla Harrison Hunt attended the meeting of about 100 people and said it was a “truly amazing” discussion for the community.