Auckland welcomes first double decker electric bus 

Auckland Transport has introduced its first double decker electric bus to mostly service Mt Eden Rd, Great North Rd and Dominion Rd routes.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, joined AT chief executive Dean Kimpton and Kinetic NZ managing director Calum Haslop for a test drive of the new bus in Māngere, at bus operator Kinetic’s south depot on March 19. 

Auckland now has 138 zero-emission buses in the fleet, making it the largest number for a New Zealand city and in the top two for the whole of Australasia.

AT infrastructure and fleet specification manager Edward Wright says it’s exciting to witness the launch of the very first electric double decker.

“We are sure our customers will love the experience of travelling on the quieter and smoother bus too. 

“This will be a great opportunity for Kinetic to test how an electric double decker performs in Auckland conditions.”

AT undertakes a regular greenhouse gas emissions inventory to track its progress towards reducing its emissions footprint.

The inventory undertaken for financial year 2021-2022 highlighted that the bus fleet is responsible for 79% of the organisation’s emissions, emitting 75,530 tonnes of CO2e.

“This emphasises how critical delivering a fully zero-emission bus fleet is for Auckland Transport,” Wright says.

An average double decker diesel bus in the fleet in Auckland consumes 29,485 litres of diesel in a year, which works out to 79,020kg of CO2 emissions.

The introduction of the electric double decker will reduce carbon emissions, on a one for one basis, of 79 tonnes per year. 

Haslop says the company has brought the new double decker electric bus to Auckland to test its abilities across the multiple routes Kinetic operates. 

“The bus has already undergone extensive off-road testing, where its safety systems were checked under load and speed, but now it’s time to test the bus where it really counts, on the city’s busy bus routes.

“Of special importance is that the drivers who will be assigned to operating it have also undergone specialist training, which encompasses not only the size of the vehicle, but also its operation as an electric bus,” Haslop says.