Environment

Access to transport

Transport systems and infrastructure (including public transport) influence health and wellbeing by enabling access to other important resources, such as employment, education, and social and health care services. Transport infrastructure that is safe and easy to navigate increases the likelihood of residents using environmentally sustainable modes of transport, such as walking and cycling [3]. Levels of physical activity are influenced by the walkability and cycle-ability of the local environment [3].

This indicator presents the proportion of those 18 years and over, satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport to daily activities, using Canterbury Wellbeing Survey data from 2017 to 2019.

The figure shows that the proportion of respondents who indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport to daily activities, has increased from 72.4 percent in 2018 to 80 percent in 2019. This increase, of 7.6 percentage points, is statistically significant.

The figure shows that satisfaction with ease of access to suitable transport decreased over the 2017 to 2018 time period then increased over the 2018 to 2019 time period: in Christchurch City (74.0% to 82.2%; +8.2 percentage points); Selwyn District (68.5% to 69.9%; +1.4 percentage points); and Waimakariri District (63.9% to 73.5%; +9.6 percentage points). The increase in satisfaction reported by Christchurch City and Waimakariri District respondents from 2018 to 2019 is statistically significant.

The figure shows that the proportion of European, Māori, and Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents who reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport, converged across greater Christchurch from 2017 to 2018. This pattern of convergence was followed by an overall increase in satisfaction from 2018 to 2019. The differences between ethnic groups were not statistically different in 2018 and 2019.

The figure shows that the proportion of respondents who reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport decreased for all age groups from 2017 to 2018. The largest decrease was in the 18 to 24 years age group, for which the proportion decreased by 15 percentage points (80.2% in 2017 and 65.0% in 2018). In 2019, there are less pronounced between-group differences compared with 2018, with the exception of the proportion for the 65 to 74 years age group being statistically significantly higher than for the other groups.

The figure shows no statistically significant differences in the proportion of female and male respondents who reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport, in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The figure shows no statistically significant differences in the proportion of respondents who indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to transport, in greater Christchurch, by annual household income in 2019 (73.9% for <$30,000 to 84.6% for $100,000+). However, there is a general pattern of increasing satisfaction with increasing income. In 2017 - but not 2018 - satisfaction with ease of access to transport was statistically significantly different between the lowest and highest income groups.

The figure shows a statistically significantly lower proportion of respondents with a long-term health condition or disability indicating that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to suitable transport in greater Christchurch in 2017, 2018, and 2019 (for example, 70.4% with a long-term health condition or disability and 82.6% without, 2019). The size of this difference remained relatively unchanged from 2017 to 2019 (≈12 percentage points at each time-point).

Data Sources

Source: Canterbury District Health Board.
Survey/data set: Canterbury Wellbeing Survey, 2019. Access publicly available data from the Community and Public Health (Canterbury DHB) website www.cph.co.nz/your-health/wellbeing-survey/
Source data frequency: Annually.

View technical notes and data tables for this indicator.

Updated: 18/11/2019