The Christchurch Transport Board was an autonomous special-purpose municipal authority responsible for the construction, acquisition, and ownership of local transport assets and the operation of public transport services in the Christchurch region of New Zealand's South Island. Constituted as the Christchurch Tramway Board in 1902, it operated trams and buses to Christchurch's outer suburbs and satellite towns for years until being disestablished in the 1989 local government reforms.
The Board assumed control of the existing network of privately run tramways and converted these to electric operation whilst also extending the network. Economy measures resulted in several tram routes being converted to trolley bus and later diesel bus operation from the 1930s. The remaining tram routes were progressively closed in the decade following the end of World War II as the infrastructure required renewal or replacement. The last of the Board's trams were withdrawn in 1954, followed by its trolley buses in 1956. Its operations were fully converted to diesel buses in 1964 when the last of its older vehicles were replaced, including its petrol buses.
Subsequent to its demise, the Board's bus operation was transferred to a Local Authority Trading Enterprise (LATE) and was just one of several service providers in Christchurch following deregulation in mid-1991. The remnants of the Board survive today as the Christchurch City Council-owned Red Bus, the name by which it has been known since 1991.
History
Background From 1880 a series of tramway routes had been constructed and operated by private companies using both horse and steam as motive power. While these services heralded a major improvement to local transport at the time, at around the turn of the century there was a mood for change. Other towns and cities around the country had either already established electric tram networks or were considering their introduction including Auckland (1902), Dunedin (1903), and Wellington (1904).
The concessions under which the Christchurch Tramway Company was operating were due to expire at various times between September 1899 and 1919. With this in mind it sought to negotiate with the various local bodies concerned for an extension of these concessions, both to enable it to continue its business and to provide some certainty for future investment. With public sentiment in favour of electrification, and the parlous financial state of the private tramway companies making it unlikely that they would be able to provide such a service, the councils were opposed to renewing the concessions.
By the turn of the century the Christchurch City Council was strongly in favour of bringing the tramways under municipal control but only on its own terms. This ignited suspicion amongst Christchurch City's neighbouring boroughs – through whose territory such a system would have to be built even if only to replace the existing private network – that they would have no control over the running of such a system. A series of tramway conferences were held from the mid-1890s for the local bodies involved to advance the cause of municipalisation but it was not until March 1902 that the City Council acquiesced to the demands of its neighbours for a tramway board with elected members. The Tramway Conference had received an offer to construct and operate an electric tramway system from British Electric Traction (the same company that had the contract for the Auckland system) in February but, despite public support for the proposal, declined as they were already in favour of municipal control.
Despite generally favourable public opinion on bringing electric trams to Christchurch there were some objectors. These included the Royal Society who believed an electric tramway system would cause magnetic disturbances that would interfere with readings made at its Christchurch observatory; the municipal utilities who feared leakage from the return current of an electric tramway would corrode underground pipes through electrolysis; and the telephone authority who believed that the flow of electricity through such a system would interfere with earth currents in telephone circuits and thus render them useless. Solutions were found for all of the utilities concerns.
Formation: 1902–1903 The tramway conferences culminated in June 1902 with a decision to create a separate Tramway Board with elected representation from each affected district. To this end the Christchurch Tramway District Act was passed, effective from 26 September 1902, and the Christchurch Tramway Board was born.
The Board's district included the City of Christchurch; the Boroughs of Sydenham, St. Albans, Linwood, Woolston, New Brighton, and Sumner; and all or part of the Road Districts of Spreydon, Avon, Heathcote, Riccarton, and Halswell, with provision made for the future addition of other areas. It was authorised to levy rates in its district for tramway purposes and to raise loans (initially up to £250,000 and later an additional £100,000 if required) subject to approval by plebiscite.
An election was held the following year on 22 January 1903 to elect the first Tramway Board. Fifteen candidates vied for eight positions in a contest that resulted in the election of well-known local politicians and businessmen. The following were elected: Christchurch – Sydenham – St Albans sub-district William Reece Henry Wigram George Stead Arthur Ward Beaven Linwood sub-district Herbert Pearce Woolston – Sumner – Heathcote sub-district George Scott New Brighton – Avon sub-district Arthur Buckland Morgan Riccarton – Spreydon – Halswell sub-district Frederick Waymouth
The Board's first meeting was held on 29 January at which various other officers were appointed. A second meeting was held on 13 February and shortly thereafter the Board was able to hire Hulbert Chamberlain, an American consultant with expertise in electric tramways.
Voters were also asked on the day of the Board election to decide on the issue of amalgamating the boroughs of Sydenham, Linwood, and St. Albans with the City of Christchurch. This proposal was easily carried and formally took effect from 1 April 1903. This was to prove fortuitous for the Tramway Board by making it easier to gain concessions for the construction of tramway lines.
The proposal for the first loan was put before voters on 16 June 1903 and was carried with 89.4% in favour and 10.6% against. Later that year the tramway district was expanded to include the Riccarton – Sockburn sub-district, resulting in a ninth board position being created, which was filled by John Joseph Dougall. A new loan of £55,000 was also approved.
Acquisition of tramway companies: 1905–1906 As the private tramway companies were operating under concessions that were due to expire after the Board intended to begin operation, it realised it would have to compensate these companies to become the sole operator in Christchurch. Despite the significant capital investment required for infrastructure renewal in the private tramway lines, and the limited utility of other assets for the Board's operation, none of the parties could reach agreement on a suitable price. In all three cases the amount of compensation was decided through arbitration.
The Christchurch Tramway Company remained in operation until 16 May 1905, the day the Board commenced operation. It had been running at its own risk by special arrangement with the Board since September 1904 when many of its concessions had expired. The Board paid £23,910 for the company's plant.
The Board entered into an agreement with the New Brighton Tramway Company whereby the company would remain in service until the Board was ready to assume control of the line. The company ceased operations on 1 August 1905 at which point it handed its assets over to the Board and was compensated with £7,267. However, construction was behind schedule so the Board contracted William Hayward and Company to supply drivers and horses so it could start its own service. This arrangement lasted until the following year.
The City and Suburban Tramway Company initially indicated to the Board that it would rather continue to provide its horse tram service to which the Board was not agreeable. It ceased operations in November 1906 when it was taken over by the Board and compensated with £7,982.
The City Council received compensation of £1,200 from the Board for its Corporation Line.
Heyday: 1905–1914 The Tramway Board officially commenced operations on 5 June 1905 when an official party departed the Falsgrave Street car depot aboard a convoy of seven trams with double-decker trailers at front and rear bound for Papanui. After an accident en route necessitated the withdrawal of the fifth and sixth cars in the procession, the remaining cars proceeded to their destination where an opening day function was held at the Royal Café.
Timetabled services began the following day with Board engineer Hulbert Chamberlain serving as motorman on the first tram. Their novelty quickly made the trams popular with the public causing patronage to rise to "unprecedented and unexpected" levels. As with the earlier private tramway operators, the Board derived much of its income from the carriage of passengers attending major social events or on excursions to popular locations like the beach or racetrack.
From the beginning it was the Board's intention to eventually operate all lines with electric trams and to retire the use of the horse and steam trams from public service as soon as practicable. Horses continued to be used for a short while on the lines formerly operated by the New Brighton and City and Suburban tramway companies: in the former case because completion of the electrification on that line had been delayed and in the latter case because of pressures on the Board with the construction of lines elsewhere. Other lines were initially operated with the steam motors once the track had been laid but before the installation of the electrical infrastructure had been completed. Steam motors were also used for shunting, to haul special purpose cars used for maintenance, and to haul special services on particularly busy peak days.
The Board's early performance, while not outstanding, was still impressive. The first year of operation generated revenue of £43,109 with the sale of 5,000,000 fares. For the 1907–1908 fiscal year this had risen to £91,083 with 10,500,000 fares sold and for the 1909–1910 period revenue was £105,024 with 12,500,000 fares sold.
The organised labour movement had its first dealings with the Board following the formation of the Christchurch Tramway Worker's Union in 1906. The Board welcomed this move as a way of constructively resolving disputes and other small employment matters. Unlike the unions in Auckland and Wellington, the Christchurch union maintained a cordial relationship with the Board and it was many years later before they called for major industrial action.
The conservative influence on the Board faced its first challenge at the 1912 elections. The preceding year, voting rights in municipal elections had been opened up to all eligible adults, an opportunity various socialist groups sought to take advantage of by fielding their own candidates for election to the Board. Some of the incumbent members warned voters about the possibility of a left-leaning Board putting the concerns of workers ahead of those of the travelling public, and succeeded in having only a single candidate from the opposing camp elected.
World War I: 1914–1918