How the earthquakes changed Christchurch commuting
Commuting patterns show the dispersal of Greater Christchurch population.
Commuting patterns in Canterbury reveal the dispersal of population post-earthquakes.
Latest figures from Statistics NZ compare 2006 and 2013 and find most of the changes occurred after the 2011 earthquakes. (See graph below)
The rate of growth in the number of people working in Christchurch slowed to 6% between 2006 and 2013 compared with 16.2% between 2001 and 2006.
At the same time the number of people giving a workplace address in the neighbouring Waimakariri (Rangiora, Kaiapoi) and Selwyn (Rolleston town) districts increased by 30.3% and 43% respectively.
Company car use increased by 63% in Selwyn and 40.3% in Waimakariri – as evident by snarled traffic routes into the city most days.
Bus use fell from 4.4% to 3.1% of greater Christchurch’s 176,919 commuters based on census day answers in 2013.
The proportion of people walking, jogging, or cycling grew.
The number of people cycling to work increased slightly to 7%, only outdone by Nelson.
Almost one in three employed people who lived in central Christchurch walked or jogged to work, although this was less than the one in two in central Auckland who walked or jogged to work.
The research shows that as at March 2013, Canterbury was the second-largest region in terms of workplace addresses.
With 255,480 people giving a workplace address in Canterbury, the region as ahead of Wellington at 220,434, but behind Auckland at 596,313.
Chris Hutching
Wed, 11 Mar 2015
Wed, 11 Mar 2015
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How the earthquakes changed Christchurch commuting
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