Electric double-deckers coming to West Auckland 

West Auckland’s flagship bus service, the WX1, will be run by fully electric double-decker buses from April next year as part of a new $166 million contract signed between Auckland Transport (AT) and bus operator Tranzit Group.

The nine-year contract will see Tranzit Group bring more than 40 new electric buses to Auckland streets, operating under its Tranzurban Auckland brand on the key WX1, 11T/11W and 120 bus routes. More than half of these will be electric double-decker buses.

AT director of public transport and active Modes Stacey van der Putten says the new contract with Tranzit Group marks another step on the ‘Mission Electric’ journey.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Tranzit Group to bring long-term certainty and a modern fleet of fully electric buses to our new West and Northwest Auckland bus routes,” Ms van der Putten says.

“Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen fantastic growth on this frequent bus route which connects Westgate with the city centre, carrying more than 275,000 passengers so far.

“In recent months we’ve also seen more people using buses in all parts of West Auckland than before Covid-19. In the Westgate/Massey area patronage is about 25% higher and in Te Atatū it is about 30% higher,” she says. 

Tranzurban Auckland will look to recruit an additional 90 drivers and already has plans for a new bus depot near Westgate, equipped with three megawatt charging for the incoming electric buses. 

It will be Tranzurban Auckland’s second bus depot, the other located in Dairy Flat where it operates the NX2 service between Albany and the city centre.

To further support better journey times and reliability on West Auckland’s bus network, AT is installing T2 lanes in Te Atatū South.  

These will go live on May 15, 2024. A bus priority lane is also being installed on a section of Triangle Road in Massey.