Red Bus has introduced three electric buses this month for its Christchurch central city to airport route 29 direct run.
The three new Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) Enviro200EV buses built by BYD in China replace diesels on that service.
“In 2017, transportation made up 53% of all Christchurch emissions,” Red Bus chief executive Paul McNoe says.
“These buses are a significant first step for Christchurch on our journey towards a carbon-neutral future. The carbon footprint of the new buses is 90% lower than the diesel alternative.”
Bought with funding support from the Christchurch Agency for Energy Trust and Environment Canterbury, the e-buses operate seven days for about 20 hours daily over the 22km out and back route, close to their 250km range.
They are running about every half hour for most of the day and hourly outside of peak times.
The 37-seaters can carry up to 63 passengers including those standing.
They charge up overnight on three 80kW BYD chargers. McNoe is among those to have ridden the new e-buses and says they’re extremely quiet and smooth, particularly as they don’t have a gearbox.
The e-bus purchase follows a trial of a Kiwi Bus Builders electric there for several months.
“Driving is the new electric buses is not dissimilar to a standard bus, so it’s not a case of retraining drivers on familiarisation with the controls,” McNoe says.
He hopes to see patronage increase on the run as a result of introducing the electric buses.
McNoe expects to see more electric buses introduced in future, adding that Red Bus has a fleet of 150 used for school and urban runs, tours and charters.
“We’ll see how this goes before we look at introducing any more.”
And he hopes the price of the e-buses will drop to provide more of an incentive to purchase them.
The e-buses are expected to save about 40% in fuel, maintenance and servicing costs.
“Their energy consumption is significantly less than a diesel, using about a third of the energy in comparison,” McNoe says.
They also don’t pay road user chargers.
McNoe is already impressed with the electric buses – and it seems passengers are too, as more are opting for emission-free public transport.
Red Bus is 100% owned by Christchurch City Holdings, the Christchurch City Council’s investment arm.
