Sustainable transport includes all forms of transport that minimise emissions of carbon dioxide and pollutants. Sustainable transport can mean public transport, car pooling, walking and cycling, as well as technologies such as biodiesel and electric and hybrid cars.

Types of sustainable transport

Walking bus

A fun way to move
Walking school buses are supervised walks along a set route with at least one adult. The “bus” stops to pick up children at selected stops and walks them to and from school. Schools or parents can set up a Walking School Bus project. The Christchurch City Council supports school communities to set up walking school buses. Walking School Bus guidelines are available from the School Coordinator. For more information email info@ccc.govt.nz or call Customer Centre, Streets 03 941 8666.

Biking

A healthy way to move
Canterbury’s largely flat terrain and mild climate are good for cycling; whether it’s for everyday trips to work and school, or just to have fun. Cycling is cheap, creates little pollution and keeps you fit and healthy. It has also been described as ‘active transport’, a category of sustainable transport which uses human power, animal power and renewable energy.
For more information, visit the Christchurch City Council website.

Energy-efficient vehicles

Smart ways to move
Energy-efficient cars are small, very fuel efficient and can fit into very small spaces. Car pooling is about sharing a ride with others to reduce fuel use and traffic congestion. A Community Car is a car that a community owns, maintains, and uses together, saving on ownership and maintenance costs. It offers an alternative form of transport to a privately-owned car.

Bus

Social ways to move
The word bus is a shortened version of omnibus, which means “for everyone”. Buses have the ability to move a lot of people to a lot of different places. When well used they help reduce pollution and traffic congestion. Travelling by bus can be easy, affordable and relaxing. In Canterbury we have a number of city bus companies including Leopard, Christchurch Bus Services, Ritchies, and Redbus. Metro is the name of the bus system in Christchurch and is managed by Environment Canterbury. The Metro brand was extended to the Timaru passenger transport network in January 2007. For more information visit Metroinfo.

Car pooling

Car pooling is about sharing a ride with others to reduce fuel use and traffic congestion.

Community Car

A Community Car is a car that a community owns, maintains, and uses together, saving on overall costs. It offers an alternative form of transport to a privately owned car. For more information visit Go Smarter

Hybrid vehicles

Hybrid vehicles usually use 2 types of power sources, such as a petrol or diesel engine coupled with an electric motor. Hybrid vehicles generally use the petrol engine at high speeds and the electric motor at low speeds and when idling. The battery which stores electricity for the electric motor is charged during periods when the car is not accelerating, i.e. when you are slowing down, braking, or traveling downhill. If required, it can be charged by the petrol or diesel engine.

Biodiesel trial

Over the next 12 months, Environment Canterbury will be trialling 4 Metro buses on a biodiesel blend.

During peak times, the buses will operate on Metro bus routes. During off-peak times they will be used as part of Environment Canterbury’s transport education programmes with schools and the wider community.

The biodiesel used in this trial will initially be a B5 (5%) blend and both plant oil and animal fat biodiesel will be used. This blend quantity may increase to a maximum of a B20 (20%) blend during the trial. Regular monitoring and testing will be undertaken throughout the trial to measure the reduction in emissions.

The biodiesel will be rigorously tested to ensure compliance with NZS 7500:2005 and engine oil sampling will also be carried out.

Facts about biodiesel

• Biodiesel has been used since 1895.
• Biodiesel does reduce harmful emissions.
• Biodiesel is not straight vegetable oil: it has been processed to become biodiesel.
• Pure biodiesel is commonly referred to as B100.
• Biodiesel can comprise waste vegetable oil, animal fats or virgin oil.
• Biodiesel roughly produces the same amount of torque and horsepower in diesel engine vehicles.
• Biodiesel was first used successfully in an engine in the 1890s.
• Biodiesel is significantly less toxic to humans than normal diesel.

Further biodiesel facts can be found here.

Results

To find out how the trial is progressing, take a look here.

Partners in the biodiesel trial:

Leopard; Christchurch Bus; IPL; Bio Diesel Oils; Petro-Tec; CAE.