Electric double-deckers getting set for fleet

This story first appeared in the May issue of EVtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

A fleet of 10 new electric double-decker buses are in the works and set to hit the streets of Wellington.
They are to be operated by family-owned Masterton-based Tranzit Group Ltd which was the preferred bidder for eight contracts in the region.

Tauranga-based Kiwi Bus Builders are delivering 40 new buses, including the double-deckers, for Tranzit Group. The buses are set for operation by July this year.

The fleet will also include 28 Euro 6 diesel double-deckers which are being built by Chinese company Bus and Coach International.

A further 114 Optare MetroCity buses, built in the United Kingdom, were recently delivered to the transport operator with a special ceremony at the British High Commission. The total cost of that order was $40 million.

The first 12 of those buses are already set to begin operation in the capital and surrounding region.
Uzabus, which is based in Palmerston North, was also the preferred partner for the bus contract in Kapiti.

The electric buses sit on specially designed chassis and takes the team at Kiwi Bus Builders around two to three months to be fully complete.

Tranzit Group transport and operations director Keven Snelgrove says progress is going extremely well.

“Kiwi Bus Builders are doing a great job working flat-out on new diesels and the electric double-deckers,” he says.

The first diesels have already come off the line with around two completed each week.
“But it’s the progress of the electric double-deckers that’s really exciting.

“We’ve got chassis on site in Tauranga for framing and everything’s in place to speed up what’s a really innovative build process.”

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Chris Laidlaw says the new fleet is great news for Wellingtonians with significant benefits for all.

“We’re excited at the prospect of working with Tranzit Group and Uzabus to bring a modern bus service to the region and its people.

“Both are locally-owned family businesses with over 160 years’ of combined experience in delivering quality services to passengers and drivers,” Laidlaw says.

Laidlaw says Tranzit had given councillors a commitment to employ as many bus drivers as possible from the region’s existing workforce.

New charging station technology is also been developed to meet the arrival of the electric buses.

This includes a $1.5 million state-of-the-art charging station to be installed in Island Bay in June.

The supercharger will produce 450 kilowatts of power and will have the ability to fully charge an electric bus in eight minutes.

Most electric car charging stations can only produce 30 kilowatts.