Dependence on cars

Canterbury has some of the highest rates of car ownership in the world.  Due to the comfort, convenience and relatively low costs offered by cars, we are using them more often to travel larger distances.  In 2002, vehicle ownership in Canterbury was 0.75 per capita.  By 2008, this figure had risen to 0.80 - only the Nelson/Marlborough and Southland regions have higher vehicle ownership rates than Canterbury.

These increasing rates of car ownership have seen Cantabrians becoming increasingly reliant upon cars for most of their trip making.  The chart below shows how usage of non-car based modes of transport for the journey to work has decreased over time in terms of mode share.

Safety

Approximately 40 people die and more than 300 are seriously injured on Canterbury roads each year.  While road deaths have decreased since the 1970s, accident rates and subsequent hospitalisations remain relatively high.  In recent years, deaths plus hospitalisations has been trending upwards rather than downwards.

The major road safety issues for Canterbury are broadly consistent over time - in the urban area of Christchurch, intersections are the main source of crashes, whereas in rural Canterbury, loss of control (at both bends and on straight sections of road) are the leading causes of accidents.

Climate change

New Zealand's CO₂ emissions largely come from three sources - power generation, agriculture and transport.  Transport related emissions have grown significantly since 1990.  According to the Ministry of Economic Development, road transport currently produces 38% of the total energy carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for New Zealand.

Canterbury is typical of the wider country in terms of its transport related CO₂ emissions profile. The following chart outlines how Canterbury land transport CO₂ emissions have evolved since 1998.