Christchurch Gondola
The gondola opened as the Mount Cavendish Gondola in October 1992 after a long planning process at a costs of $NZ11.5 million. The land around the gondola was landscaped with 16,000 native tussock after the completion of construction. The gondola includes 19 cabins and has a capacity of 812 travellers per hour.
2011 Christchurch earthquake
The gondola closed following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and was reopened in March 2013 by former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
2016 breakdown
In February 2016, the gondola broke down with passengers trapped in the cabins for two hours without communication from the operator. The managing director's comment that the incident was "no big deal" caused upset by those affected. Within days, the company vowed to install a speaker system into the cabins at a cost of up to NZ$50,000 so that communication to stuck passengers became possible.
Operator
The Christchurch Gondola is operated by Christchurch Attractions, who also currently operate the Christchurch Tram system.
References
- ^ Steele, Monique "Chch 360 trail one for the summer bucket list", The Press (Christchurch), 7 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ Bulovic, Anne "The Christchurch Gondola opened 24th October 1992", peelingbackhistory.co.nz, Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Prime Minister marks the reopening of Christchurch Gondola.", scoop.co.nz, 19 April 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Peacock, Alice; Campbell, Georgina; Speedy, Erin (6 February 2016). "Passengers trapped in Christchurch gondola". The Press. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ Hume, Myles (12 February 2016). "Christchurch Gondola vows to improve communication". The Press. Retrieved 5 March 2017.