Getting Around Christchurch

Update Feb. 2012

As the central city is cordoned off since last year's earthquakes the yellow bus and my tip are not needed at the moment...



When you a tired from walking in the city centre the sight of a yellow bus can be rather delightful. It is a service free of charge - and sometimes, on rare occasions, the bus is not yellow... just red because the Red Bus Company runs it... But then you recognise it by the "Free Service" displayed at the front of the bus.

It runs from 7.30/8am to 10.30pm (Sunday only until 8pm) and most time every 10 minutes, so a bus is never far away.

The stops are not identical with the stops of the Metro Bus System but easily recognisable. They are big pastel yellow signs with the red and green S of the Shuttle. At every stop is a map of the route.

In some parts the route is a little tricky as this bus runs a one way route although it runs up and down Colombo Street... but only between Armagh and St. Asaph Street. Between St. Asaph St and Moorhouse Ave it only runs south, then turns left into Moorhouse Ave and back north again in Barbadoes St, then left again into St. Asaph, from where it turns right back into Colombo St.

North of Cathedral Square the one way route leads up to Peterborough St where the bus stops at the Convention Centre and at the Casino, turning into Victoria St and then through Armagh St back into Colombo St.

If you get on the bus in the wrong direction it does not matter. Just use it as a free city sightseeing tour ;-) As it runs mostly on electricity it is even an environmentally friendly service.

Route and timetable on the website.

Update 31 March 2008
In the past weeks I have seen quite some tourists on those yellow buses, with their cameras ready to shoot. Be aware that there is nothing attractive to see south of Cathedral Square, some roads the bus passes are even a bit shabby. Most people use it to go grocery shopping at South City, Pack'n'Save and Moorhouse Central. This is not a sightseeing bus.

I found Adventure motor homes to be better than Britz or maui (chaeper as well) . Make sure you have travel insurance which covers you hiring a car or motorhome . Then you shouldn't need to take out extra insurance on the motorhome as it is already covered in your travel insurance policy.

The red buses are the main public transport around christchurch and its suburbs. It cost $12.50 from the airport, but if you buy a $10 all day ticket you can also go anywhere else you like. Red buses will take you to New Brighton Beach, Lyttleton harbour and the gondola. Just ask the bus driver for the day pass ticket as it is not advertised anywhere.

Although Christchurch is not a big city, it still can be a slog getting around, especially if you're a bit weary from too much sight-seeing.
Christchurch's free shuttle bus is a great way to get across the city. The bright yellow buses provide an excellent service for residents and visitors alike and are justifyably popular - and they can be crowded at some stages during the day - lunch-times especially.
The shuttle runs on a north-south route across the city, from the Casino in the norh to Science Alive in the south, with a small extension north at night. Buses run at 10 minute intervals during the day, every day except Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and every 15 minutes from 7pm-10.30pm

Look out for the yellow bus stops.

The most famous train ride in New Zealand is the Tranzalpine trip from Christchurch to Greymouth on the West Coast.

Crossing the farm land of the Canterbury Plains before heading into the foot hills and crossing the Southern Alps before reaching the coast at Greymouth by travelling through the sub tropical rain forest of the West Coast it is an amazing trip (even for those who grew up there).

Trains leave daily from Christchurch each morning at about 7:30 and reach Greymouth at early afternoon. You can break your trip at Arthurs Pass and either return the same day to Christchurch or continue your journey north or south from Greymouth with connecting buses.

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Update March 2010

Everything is getting more expensive, so the Five Dollar Bus has become the Seven Dollar Bus. Just updated this, the rest of the info stays the same.

The slogan of the Seven Dollar Bus is simple: Turn up, hop on, gone within 5 minutes.

Departures from Cathedral Square, next to the Tramway stop on Worcester Blvd, every 20 minutes between 8am and 5pm. As the name of the bus suggests the fare is NZ$7.

As it is a shuttle service you can also get a ride from the airport to the Square.

The buses are mini-buses, not big coaches. As it is a direct service it is the fastest way to get to the airport - apart from taxis.

The fastest public bus (Metro System) would also cost you $7. This is the Airport Flyer which goes directly to the airport from Cathedral Square. This trip takes about 25 minutes.

Between 7am and 8pm departures every 30 minutes from Monday to Friday, on Saturday from 8.35am and on Sunday from 9.05am. Stops outside the Bus Exchange on Lichfield Street, in Gloucester Street opposite the City Library and on Cambridge Terrace by the Bridge of Rememberance.

More info about the public airport bus which operates from 6am to 11pm on weekdays:

http://www.metroinfo.org.nz/docs/Airport%20Route%20Map.pdf
http://www.metroinfo.org.nz/timetable_A.html
http://www.christchurch-airport.co.nz/airport/Transportation/

It takes only four or five minutes longer to travel on the regular #10 bus (Cashmere - Airport via Bus Exchange; destination: Harewood) which stops several times along the way - but if you have the Metrocard it would cost you only $ 2.70 (otherwise $7 like the other airport bus). On weekdays the first bus leaves at 5.21am at the Bus Exchange, and the last one at 11.40pm.

http://www.metroinfo.org.nz/timetable_10.html

There are also door to door shuttles which you share with other travellers. The costs range from $12 to 20. Taxis to the city centre cost about $40.

See more details about those shuttles in an extra tip.

There are not many places to stay near the airport if you arrive on a late flight and don't want to have to get a taxi into the city.
We stayed at the Highway Inn which is a motel/truck stop about 5 mins taxi ride from the airport. It's the cheapest place around: 80 NZ$ for a twin room with free tea and coffee 24 hours.
A backpackers is being planned close to the airport but at the mo there's nothing else.
The Highway Inn is clean and tidy although a bit outdated, you just have a room with a sink and share a bathroom & toilet with a few other rooms.
The staff are friendly and helpful and at half past midnight when we arrived they were still there to check us in, overall it was fine - quiet, warm and clean and we didnt see any truckers although quite a few trucks were outside!
It was a 25 NZ$ taxi ride from the airport although that was after midnight so it might be cheaper if you are a bit earlier.
In the morning we walked down Sawyers Arms Road towards the city to Gardiners Road where there is a bus stop - it was about a 30min stroll with a heavy suitcase without wheels! Bus into city centre is every 20 mins or so and cost 3 NZ$.

To save money while travelling around Christchurch (Including most of its outer suburbs) you can go to the Bus Exchange in the city centre and get a metro card - it is free to get this card (Well it was when we went!) and you must top it up with at least $10, this means that you get reduced bus fares, but you also get transfers within two? hours (meaning you can get off somewhere, have a quick look around and get back on another bus within the two hours and you don't pay another fare) they also have maximum daily fares of $3.80 (this is what it was when we went) so you can travel as much as you like on the buses for a whole day for $3.80 which is a pretty good deal!

We used this metro card to take us numerous places, we ended up at Lyttleton, Sumner, New Brighton and pretty much all the big shopping malls in each suburb. The Buses are pretty regular with most buses going the way you want to go arriving every 10 minutes or so on the more popular routes and maybe half an hour for the less popular routes.

The longest we ever waited would have been about 20 minutes on a sunday afternoon.

You do however have to signal to the bus drivers that you want them to pull over or they will keep on going unless someone wants to get off the bus.