Auckland has most zero-emission buses on NZ roads

Auckland Transport (AT) has 133 zero-emission buses in the fleet, making it the largest number for a New Zealand city and in the top two in Australasia.

Mission Electric continues to progress as AT has recently released the latest Low Emission Bus Roadmap for Auckland, which lays out the plan for transitioning the whole of Auckland’s bus fleet to low emissions.

AT is targeting a completely zero-emission fleet by 2035. 

Given the financial and logistical constraints to transition the entire bus fleet to zero-emission, the new transition target is aligned to the Government’s target of 2035, says AT metro specifications (fleet and infrastructure) manager Edward Wright.

 “This allows for a more rapid transition than the originally targeted 2040, while mitigating some of the risks and challenges introduced by targeting 2030.”

 Since the establishment of its roadmap, AT has held several trials with zero-emission buses – all delivering positive results in service reliability, customer experience, and operational savings. 

 “This has given both AT and our operators confidence that zero-emission vehicles can perform the duties required of them in terms of range, and for lower operational costs per kilometre compared to diesel,” Wright says.

“We have had great feedback from our customers about travelling on the quieter and smoother buses too.”

AT undertakes a regular greenhouse gas emissions inventory to track its progress towards reducing its emissions footprint, with the inventory for financial year 2021-2022 highlighting 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.

Mission Electric milestones include moving half of Waiheke Island’s bus fleet to electric from November 2020 – with the remainder of the diesel fleet to be replaced nearer their end of life by electric buses; accelerating the previous milestone to have all new buses procured as zero-emission from 2025; having the AirportLink from Manukau Bus Station via Puhinui Station to Auckland Airport and the CityLink service electric; transitioning TāmakiLink to a fully electric fleet and 26 other electric buses deployed to Eastern Bays routes; putting a further 43 electric buses in service, making route 24 the latest fully zero-emission route; and trialling New Zealand’s only hydrogen fuel cell bus.