School's back and so is the traffic in Christchurch

School’s back next week and so will be the traffic making it important that all road users plan ahead and allow for increased journey times.

From Monday, 1 February, many students return to school and parents to work, which Christchurch Transport Operations Centre (CTOC) manager Ryan Cooney says will see travel times increase.

"Road users need to plan ahead. They can go online at tfc.govt.nz(external link) to check out travel times to ensure they get to their destination on time."

A helpful tool is the Transport for Christchurch travel time dashboard.(external link) Using Bluetooth data the dashboard provides live travel times for main strategic roads to and from the CBD, airport and across the city, he says.

“Motorists can use these times to decide on the best route to work or better yet decide whether they would prefer to cycle or bus instead.”

The increase in travel times is most notable during the morning peak traffic, particularly on the main approaches to the city. The change for afternoon traffic is less significant as it does not overlap with students leaving schools.

Metro school bus services will also return in conjunction with the back to school dates.

Table: Expected change in travel times