NZ bus firm Metlink expands electric Wellington fleet
It means that Metlink’s fleet is now 25 per cent electrified, moving the company closer to its 2030 goal of full electrification – along with plans to add a further 31 electric buses over the next three years.
The buses will enter service by the end of April and operate on a number of routes in and around the city. Two of the routes will be fully electric as a result, namely route 2 and route 4. The introduction of the new buses is timed to coincide with the city’s quarterly update to bus timetables.
“The aim is for all 16 buses to be in service by the end of April, making a noticeable difference to noise and pollution, as we continue to drive down our carbon emissions and work towards the electrification of all core bus routes by 2030,” said Greater Wellington transport chair Thomas Nash.
He added: “About a third of the kilometers travelled by Metlink buses are now powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels and this has been a major factor in the increase of air quality on central city streets like Manners, Willis and Lambton Quay, where noxious fumes have dropped markedly in the last couple of years.”
The buses are owned by Metlink’s operator, Kinetic, which has a total fleet of 56 BEV buses across the Greater Wellington area. It also runs bus services in wider New Zealand, Australia, and London.
A report by the government of Greater Wellington found that CO2 emissions from the bus network have reduced in proportion to the increase in service kilometers travelled by electric buses, with electric buses performing 27 per cent of total fleet km in 2023/2024.
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