Go Bus Transport is spending over $13 million upgrading its urban passenger fleet in Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawke’s Bay.
The company has commissioned 29 new buses to be built by Rolleston-based Designline Bus Pacific.
The new buses will all be on the road by August next year and will bring additional capacity to routes in these major centres around New Zealand.
Seven of the new fleet will go to Dunedin, five to Hawke’s Bay and the remainder will go to Christchurch and throughout other Go Bus operations around the country says the company.
Go Bus Managing Director Calum Haslop says the company’s initiative is both a significant boost for its national operations and a win for Christchurch manufacturing.
“For our passengers, the 29 new buses will represent a very modern urban bus experience, with an emphasis on safety, quality, comfort and durability,” says Haslop.
“This major investment aims to give our passengers the highest standard of bus transport experience by progressively modernising our fleet and retiring buses well before the industry standard,” he says.
“This strategy ensures Go Bus maintains the youngest average age fleet in the country,” says Haslop.
“These new additions to our fleet will feature Euro 5 compliant diesel engines that meet the world’s toughest emission standards as well as being economical,” he says.
“Our investment in new vehicles will ultimately lead to increases in passenger numbers on our Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawke’s Bay bus routes,” says Haslop.
“This investment is a significant contribution towards our partnership goals with regional councils to help ease congestion in these major cities,” he says.
