From left to right:
Cr Daran Ponter – Chair, Greater Wellington
Keven Snelgrove – Tranzit
Brendan Prince – NZBus
James Howard – Tranzit
Cr David Lee – Greater Wellington
Cr Roger Blakeley – Greater Wellington
The ink has dried on contracts for 98 new electric buses, which will take Metlink’s fleet of electric buses to 108, significantly reducing its carbon footprint and taking Greater Wellington a step closer on its target of carbon neutrality by 2030.
Metlink currently has 450 buses in its active fleet in the Wellington region 10 of which are EVs, making up two percent of the fleet. Once the 98 buses are added to the fleet the proportion of EVs will rise to 22 per cent which, excluding market leader China, is high by international standards.
Seventy-three of the buses will be used on current scheduled services with a further 25 to be progressively added to routes to meet future network growth. The new electric buses will eventually take 61 diesel buses off the roads, leading to a 17 per cent drop in carbon emissions and a similar reduction in harmful emissions.
Greater Wellington is delivering on its promise of a building a modern low emission bus network according to Chair Daran Ponter.
“I’m sure that people across the region will be pleased to see another 61 diesel buses taken off the road and this will drive real climate benefits by deploying the new electric buses on high use areas of the network.
“Just like our plans for rail, this is also about ensuring we have a fleet in place that can cope with rising population trends and demand for public transport over the next few years. That’s why 25 buses will be used to accommodate forecast passenger growth without an increase in emissions,” added Chair Ponter.
Climate Committee chair Cr Thomas Nash said we have to provide attractive alternatives to our current 20th century car culture if we’re serious about responding to climate change.
“Over the last two decades transport emissions rose by 14 per cent across the region, mainly from fossil fuel burning cars and trucks.
“We need a real step change here and we know we can move far more people with far fewer vehicles if we provide high quality public transport. A modern, comfortable low emission fleet will play a key role in attracting new passengers, encouraging them to embrace public transport. We’ve got an opportunity to break free from the car-dominated landscape that’s been driving pollution in our cities - let’s take it,” added Cr Nash.
Roger Blakeley, chair of Greater Wellington’s Transport Committee, said that the new fleet will also attract more bus drivers to the region.
“This new fleet shows our intentions for growing the network and obviously more buses means more drivers. We want buses that drivers can be proud of and these state of the art buses, many fitted out right here in New Zealand, will help us attract drivers that want to be at the forefront of the public transport industry in New Zealand and internationally.”
As part of the deal, NZ Bus will source 67 ready-to-go large single decker EVs from China and Tranzurban will build 31 double decker EVs at Kiwi Bus Builders in Tauranga, with parts sourced from world leading Chinese bus manufacturers.
NZ Bus CEO Barry Hinkley said he was delighted that NZ Bus was making a significant contribution to NZ’s environmental performance, commenting that growing the number of EVs in its fleet is the right way forward as NZ Bus looks to a future of reduced fossil fuel usage.
"With these 67 new electric buses, NZ Bus is proud to be having the largest EV bus fleet in New Zealand. With these new orders, we will see our EV fleet grow to at least 85 buses in the short term.
"Obviously, we all should try and do as much as we can to look after our environment; taking public transport is a great way of reducing emissions, and electric public transport is an even better way.
“We’re committed to doing our bit to help reduce emissions in New Zealand and at the same time provide people with a safe and easy way to get around,” said Mr Hinkley.
Tranzurban Director Keven Snelgrove said today’s announcement is a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to partnering with Greater Wellington and pioneering and investing in electric bus technology and infrastructure in New Zealand.
He says the 31 new double deck EVs add to the company’s fleet of 10 New Zealand-built double deck EVs successfully in operation in Wellington already.
“This new fleet will deliver multiple benefits of being New Zealand built, adding to our modern and reliable electric bus fleet and help reduce carbon emissions and air pollution for Wellingtonians.”
The buses will be delivered between mid-2021 and early 2023.
Names have been drawn and winners have been announced for Greater Wellington Regional Council’s month-long initiative that encouraged students to walk, cycle and scoot to school.
Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Biosecurity team has announced a 10-year-programme to prevent the invasion of three of New Zealand’s least desirable pest plants.
The inaugural meeting of Greater Wellington’s climate committee, delayed by COVID-19, will focus on how regional government can help lead the response to our fast-changing climate, the greatest challenge facing Aotearoa New Zealand.
Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter and Councillor Prue Lamason say Hutt City Council’s short sighted decision to block RiverLink from being submitted as one of the Government’s fast track infrastructure projects is slap in the face of a community crying out for more resilience, growth and safety.
A just-released report from infrastructure consulting firm AECOM commissioned by the region’s nine councils shows that the Wellington Region’s gross greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5 per cent between 2001 and 2019, from a gross of 4,427,849 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to 4,190,050 tCO2e.
For the last eight years, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Belmont Area Mountain Bike Association (BAMBA) have been restoring 24 hectares of Belmont Regional Park’s native ecosystem.
Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils have secured $5m in funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to pursue a detailed business case, and commence procurement for regional trains which if delivered would prevent passengers from being packed like sardines within the next five years.
A high-level discussion document on the most likely impacts of COVID-19 suggests that Wellington may be in a better position to ride out the coming economic downturn and could emerge in better shape than some other regions.
At this week’s Council meeting, Greater Wellington Regional Council appointed 17 members to the Public Transport Advisory Group to help shape the region’s transport.
The Wellington Region Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group, alongside the District Health Boards, and Regional Public Health, has been working hard to support the pandemic response since the State of National Emergency was declared on 25 March 2020.
A collective of Rongoā Māori practitioners recently harvested from plants across the Wellington region to produce traditional medicines for whānau, hapū, iwi and the broader community.
Chair of Wellington’s Mayoral Forum and Upper Hutt City Council Mayor Wayne Guppy says the region’s Councils are pulling together to respond to the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 and developing a coordinated response to the government’s infrastructure investment strategy.
Following a reassessment of criteria for development of a Multi-User Ferry Terminal, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Horizons Regional Council, joint shareholders of CentrePort, have both reaffirmed Kaiwharawhara as their preferred location for the terminal.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has released details on air quality for the first full week of lockdown showing dramatic falls in pollutants across the region.
The future of Masterton’s Henley Lake is being discussed with submissions to Masterton District Council (MDC) for their annual district plan closing on April 20.
With Greater Wellington Regional Council’s professional predator hunters locked down, Greater Wellington is urging backyard trappers to use this time to keep the heat on rats, stoats and other predators.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has voted to introduce the Living Wage for council staff, making it one of the first Living Wage Councils in New Zealand.
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