Christchurch Bus Interchange
The Christchurch Bus Interchange is the bus station in the Christchurch Central City in New Zealand. Built as one of the 17 anchor projects identified in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, it opened in May 2015 after the previous Bus Exchange had been damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
History
Historically, Cathedral Square was the main facility for public transport users in central Christchurch. That changed when the Bus Exchange opened in November 2000 in Lichfield Street, with most bus routes using an indoor facility off Lichfield Street with direct pedestrian access in City Mall. The building that housed the Bus Exchange was damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and was later demolished. From October 2011, a temporary station—Central Station—was established in a block further west. This block was surrounded by Lichfield, Colombo, Tuam, and Durham streets, and the facility was expected to be in use for "up to two years".The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, which had the Bus Interchange as one of its 17 anchor projects for the central city's earthquake recovery, was published in July 2012. It set an indicative start date of 2012 and completion by June 2014. Christchurch City Council's District Plan was amended and two-thirds of the block surrounded by Lichfield, Manchester, Tuam, and Colombo streets designated for the Bus Interchange. The most significant building that had to be demolished to make way for the proposed Bus Interchange was Miller's Department Store, better known for its subsequent use from 1980 to 2010 as the head office of Christchurch City Council.