Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Trams, 'Buses, And Cabs

Trams, 'Buses, And Cabs.

The fact that Christchurch and its suburbs are almost absolutely on a dead level, enables the city to enjoy exceptional facilities in the way of internal communication. Tram lines are laid through the city as far north as Papanui, three miles, and in the opposite direction to Addington and Sunnyside, three miles. There is a tram-line to Sumner, nine miles, by the Ferry Road. New Brighton, six miles away, is connected with the city by two lines—one owned by the City and Suburban Tramway Company, and the other by the Christchurch Company, which controls all the other town lines. The Christchurch Company's trams start from Cathedral Square: the City and Suburban line starts from the Jubilee Clock Tower, at page 63 the corner of High Street and Manchester Street. On the Sumner and Papanui lines steam motors are used; but on the other lines teams of horses are employed. Most of the suburbs are thus connected with the centre of the city. St. Albans and Merivale are served by the Papanui line, Linwood and Richmond by the New Brighton line, Sydenham by the Colombo Road line, Addington by the Lincoln Road line. The average speed on these lines is from eight to ten miles per hour. The Sumner trip (steam motor) takes one hour for nine miles. The direct line to New Brighton, five miles and a half, takes about half an hour; and the City and Suburban line, which runs through Richmond and Burwood, and provides the prettiest view of the surrounding country to be got near Christchurch, is about six miles in length, and takes about three-quarters of an hour. The fares for all these routes are very moderate. The trip to Sumner costs, single or return, Is for adults, 6d for children; to New Brighton, single, 9d; return, 1s. At ten o'clock every morning special excursion trams are run to both New Brighton and Sumner, and on these the return fare is only 6d. To Papanui the fare is 3d; return, 6d; and to other suburbs in proportion.

The omnibus service of Christchurch is a most useful supplement to the tram system. The fact that even along the tram line, drags can pay their way in open competition with steam, is a proof of the advantages afforded to wheeled traffic in Christchurch. The trams run every hour to New Brighton and Sumner, and about every hour to Addington and Sydenham, and about every twenty minutes to Papanui, for the greater part of the day. On the North Road to Papanui it is generally possible to get a drag if a tram is not available. The buses run also to the following suburbs and outlying towns: Avonside and Dallington (towards New Brighton); Fendalton, Riccarton, Opawa (supplementing the Lyttelton train); Lincoln, Richmond, St. Albans (by Springfield Road); Willowbank (between Sydenham and Addington); Templeton (on the old West Coast Road), and the two great industrial villages, Belfast and Islington, where the large numbers of workmen employed, at the freezing and preserving works, supply drags and buses with a large amount of patronage. As Belfast is about seven miles from Christchurch on the north line, and Islington about seven miles in the opposite direction on the main south line, while Lincoln is fourteen miles away, it is evident that the 'bus system of which Christchurch is the centre is unusually large and enterprising. Along the tram lines, the fares for drags or buses is about the same as the tram fare, sometimes a little lower.

The cabs of Christchurch are a source of just pride to everybody connected with them. Canterbury is famous throughout the colonies for its horses, and certainly no other city in Australasia can make such a splendid display of horses as are to be seen any day in Cathedral Square. Both hansoms and four-wheelers are admirably horsed, and the animals, not having to contend with such roads as make cab-driving wearisome in Dunedin, Wellington, and Auckland, are generally in the best of condition. The fares are certainly reasonable; 1s to any place within the city limits, and 6d per half mile extra to any place beyond the boundary. The fare by time is 4s per hour within the city, and 5s per hour outside; shorter periods are charged on a proportionate scale.