Dunedin is all set for its first e-bus trial as part of a collaboration between the Otago Regional Council (ORC) and Go Bus Transport.
From September 28, locals will see a GBV Enviroline 35-seater e-bus zipping around the streets and hills of the city.
The electric bus trial is likely to rotate around select routes, including St Clair to Normanby, St Kilda to Halfway Bush, St Kilda to Brockville and Mosgiel to the city.
ORC transport manager Garry Maloney says the trial was an exciting chance to see an electric bus take on Dunedin’s hills.
“We’re really looking forward to giving an e-bus a run around a few Dunedin routes and seeing how it performs.
“ORC has committed through the Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-31 to decarbonising our public transport fleet.
“One of our current objectives on that path is to investigate opportunities to move to low emission vehicles, or alternative fuels and technologies, for contracted services.”
The purpose of the trial was to understand how electric buses would work on the Dunedin network.
A regionwide greenhouse gas emissions profile prepared for ORC earlier this year found that transport was a major contributor to Otago’s total emissions in 2019.
In Dunedin, transport contributed 30% of total emissions that year, second only to agriculture.
“The four routes that are planned for the trial will take the e-bus around a good variety of terrains and travel durations.
“The aim is to get a sense of how an e-bus can handle the different hills, routes, and the motorway in Dunedin, and how we might need to factor charging time into route planning,” Maloney says.
Go Bus Transport chief executive Calum Haslop says his team were proud to support the e-bus trial.
“We’re very pleased to be able to supply the GBV Enviroline for the month and give Dunedin passengers a chance to experience the smoother, quieter electric future of public transport.
“I know there are a few drivers who are keen to get behind the wheel, and I’m sure passengers will share their excitement once the trial kicks off in a week’s time.
“Go Bus already has nine electric buses in operation on services in Auckland and seven in Christchurch, with a further 18 arriving in Christchurch before the end of the year.
“We spent many years researching and looking at EV deployments worldwide, and are well on our way towards a zero emission and sustainable future,” Haslop says.
