Over the course of that time, improvements and changes have shaped the predominantly bus based public transport system, including the introduction of services such as the Orbiter.

The local bus service is marketed as Metro and designed, specified, put out to tender and subsidised by Environment Canterbury.

Christchurch City Council provides roading infrastructure and street furniture such as signs and seats and regulates parking at bus stops, and is also owner of Red Bus Ltd through its holding company Christchurch City Holdings.

The Christchurch City Council also provides bus lanes which operational during peak commuting hours on some routes.

The Exchange had attracted interest from other worldwide city authorities investigating how to improve their bus services.

[10] Central Station was in use until 25 May 2015, when Christchurch's new $53 million Bus Interchange building opened,[11] with half of the 16 bays operational.

On 20 August, the building was physically completed and further opened to the public, including bike parking and more seating.

[12] Part of the hub and spoke model network is that many passengers need to interchange to other buses at suburban centres.

[13] The four High Frequency services, which cross the city every 10 to 15 minutes, serve the Interchange,[14] but the Orbiter doesn't.

[13] The Interchange also provides for the less frequent buses, longer distance coaches (on Lichfield St, except for Newmans to Queenstown),[15] taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.

ECan requested it to be open in December 2014, but Christchurch city councillors found it difficult to make the required decisions.

[19] It wasn't until 14 December 2015 that the Riccarton Road lounge, on the corner with Division Street, finally opened.

Five colour-coded frequent bus routes (the High Frequency Services) run through Christchurch's major road corridors, connecting people to popular destinations.

[22] Suburban Links (buses with three numbers and also route 97) allow people to travel between inner suburbs, while avoiding the central city.

Trams were originally introduced to Christchurch in 1905, ceased operating in 1954,[25] and returned to the newly built inner city loop in 1995, mainly as a tourist attraction.

[26] In an article dated August 2014, it was subsequently confirmed that the city council were to discuss the possibility with the NZ Transport Agency.