Transport in Christchurch

Christchurch is served by Christchurch International Airport and by buses (local and long-distance) and trains. The local bus service, known as Metro, is provided by Environment Canterbury. The car, however, remains the dominant form of transport. The central city has very flat terrain and the Christchurch City Council is establishing a network of cycle lanes and paths.

There is a functioning Christchurch tramway system in Christchurch, but as a tourist attraction; its loop is restricted to a circuit of the central city. The trams were originally introduced in 1905, ceased operating in 1954, but returned to the inner city (as a tourist attraction) in 1995. In addition to normal bus services, Christchurch also has a pioneering zero-fare hybrid bus service, the Shuttle, in the inner city.

The Main North Line railway travels northwards via Kaikoura to Picton and is served by the famous TranzCoastal passenger train, while the Main South Line heads to Invercargill via Dunedin and was used by the Southerner until its cancellation in 2002. The most famous train to depart Christchurch is the TranzAlpine, which travels along the Main South Line to Rolleston and then turns onto the Midland Line, passes through the Southern Alps via the Otira Tunnel, and terminates in Greymouth on the West Coast. This trip is often regarded to be one of the ten great train journeys in the world for the amazing scenery through which it passes. The TranzAlpine service is primarily a tourist service and carries no significant commuter traffic. Commuter trains used to operate in Christchurch but were progressively cancelled in the 1960s and 1970s. The last such service, between Christchurch and Rangiora, ceased in 1976.

Vehicles, as they do throughout New Zealand and most Commonwealth Nations, drive on the left side of the road.

.Infrastructure of Auckland

The State Highway network connects the cities in the Auckland urban area through the Northern, Southern, Northwestern and Southwestern Motorways.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge (Northern Motorway) is the main connection to the North Shore, and also a major traffic bottleneck. The Harbour Bridge does not provide access for rail, pedestrians or cyclists, which has repeatedly (most recently in 2008) led to campaigns for and investigations into retrofitting the structure.

The Central Motorway Junction, also called 'Spaghetti Junction' for its complexity, is the intersection between the two major motorways of Auckland (State Highway 1 and State Highway 16).

Two of the longest arterial roads within Greater Auckland are Great North Road and Great South Road - the main connections in those directions before the construction of the State Highway network.

Auckland has three main railway lines, serving the general western, southern, and central eastern directions from the Britomart Transport Centre in downtown Auckland. It is the terminal station for all lines, and connects them to ferry and bus services.

Transport in Auckland

Private vehicles are the main form of transportation within Auckland, with around 7% of journeys in the Auckland region being undertaken by bus (2006 data), and 2% undertaken by train and ferry.Usage is however heavily skewed towards travel to and from the Central Business District, where more than half of trips are undertaken by public transport. Auckland still ranks quite low in this regard, having only 46 public transport trips per capita per year, while Wellington has almost twice this number at 91, and Sydney has 114 trips. This strong roading focus results in substantial traffic congestion during peak times.

Bus services in Auckland are mostly radial, with few ring-routes, due to Auckland being on an isthmus. Late-night services (i.e. past midnight) are limited, even on weekends.

Regular trains operating along four lines travel between the CBD and the west, south and south-east of Auckland, with longer-distance options scarce. In 2007 approximately NZ$5.3 billion worth of large-scale projects were underway or planned (and budgeted for) in the Auckland area to improve rail and public transport patronage over the next decade, 31% of the transport budget. However, policy changes in early 2009 by the incoming National government have meant a shift in emphasis to more highway construction, and have removed the provision of a regional fuel tax that was to pay for ARTA's public transport upgrades. While the government has promised to fund the rail electrification, the process and associated tenders were delayed by approximately one year, and some rail station upgrades and the funding of the integrated ticketing upgrade were in doubt. The lack of future funding also forced ARTA to hand over the Auckland region's rail stations to government control.

Air New Zealand to introduce its new economy "Skycouch"

Air New Zealand (Auckland) is becoming probably the most unconventional airline in the world with its eye-opening announcements and advertisements as well as its diverse charter programs that include straight dating flights and also gay promotional flights. Now it is ready to introduce its latest idea called "Skycouch". Skycouch, which has been developed by Air New Zealand, works by converting a row of three airline seats into a bed. It is being heralded as the first "lie-down economy bed", and according to the airline "the first major improvement in economy class travel comfort in 20 years". Three seats must be purchased together, with the third seat offered at a discounted rate. Each of the seats has a cushion that folds up from beneath and arm rests all tuck away, creating a flat mattress that will allow two adults to stretch out. The company even conducted a study on the concept. 73 percent of the people who voted in Skyscanner's poll said that they would happily pay the extra fare for a Skycouch, of which 60.5 percent said they would only share it with their partner. 25 percent said that they wouldn't pay the extra fee and would rather save their money. Is this the future of long-range economy travel Source:blog.seattlepi.com/