Aranui’s new trial bus service will connect New Brighton and The Palms Shopping Centre

Following strong feedback from the community, Aranui’s new trial bus service will run hourly between New Brighton and The Palms Shopping Centre. 

More than 870 submissions were received over a two-week consultation on the trial route’s destination. 64% of respondents voted for The Palms as the destination for the new service. 

In March, Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) voted unanimously in favour of the trial bus service, after continued advocacy from the Aranui community. 

The response to this consultation was strong, highlighting how much demand there is for this service and giving us a clear direction on which destination will provide the best opportunity for a successful trial. 

651 respondents said they would use the service to access shops, 455 said they would use it to connect to other buses, 357 said it would provide a close and more convenient option, and 245 said they would use it for health appointments. Education, work and other more specific needs were also identified as reasons for using the service. The level of response was similar amongst those who chose either destination, however access to shopping and connections to other services had significantly more support from those that preferred the Palms.

Customers will be able to jump on services such as the Orbiter from The Palms to Eastgate Mall, which was the other destination the community was keen to reach. 

Cr Campbell said service will provide better connectivity for that community. 

The service will be aligned with other services, allowing for easy connections to wider Christchurch and the city centre from The Palms. While The Palms has been chosen as the destination, we’ve listened to people’s feedback about also connecting to Eastgate. Our public transport team will work with the community to make sure they know where the bus stops are and how to then transfer to a connecting bus for free. 

Staff are working with Christchurch City Council and Kinetic to finalise details for the new service, including its timetable and planned stops.

The 12-month trial service will begin later this year.