Government funding for electric bus depot

Friday, 29 September 2023

An electric bus on Courtenay Place in Wellington. A new depot will make these a more common sight around the city.

Wellington’s electric bus fleet transport plans have been given a boost with a $10.8 million grant from the Government to go towards a new depot in Lyall Bay.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council is one of three public transport authorities to receive financial support from Waka Kotahi to boost their electric bus fleets.

Taranaki Regional Council and Environment Canterbury will also receive funding from the first round of the contestable $136m climate emergency response fund.

The fund aims to support public transport authorities to accelerate the decarbonisation of their bus fleets, such as bringing forward the introduction of zero emission buses and investing in supporting infrastructure.

Greater Wellington transport committee chairperson Thomas Nash said the money would help Metlink meet its fleet electrification goals.

“We’re grateful for this funding to invest in depot and charging infrastructure. Currently, depots are privately owned by operators who provide bus services for Metlink on fixed-term contracts.

“Land is scarce in Wellington, and to sustain and grow our electric bus services, we’ve secured a site for a depot in Lyall Bay where operators who win Metlink contracts can charge their buses.”

The new depot is proposed to replace the ageing Kilbirnie site, which is due for redevelopment. The new location will be on Tirangi Rd and Kingsford Smith St, close to the Lyall Bay Warehouse.

It will have more space and more chargers – allowing more electric buses to operate.

No confirmation nor due date has been confirmed as the next step is to engage with mana whenua and local communities on the best use of the land for next year’s Long Term Plan.

Nash said plans for the depot were part of a wider move towards public ownership and control of strategic public transport assets.

The ageing bus sheds at Kilbirnie are slated for redevelopment, meaning Metlink needs a newer site that’s fit for purpose.

Environment committee chairperson Penny Gaylor said more than 20% of Metlink buses were now electric and they were on track to having an emissions-free fleet.

“Another depot with critical electricity infrastructure to support Wellington city bus services will give our operators the confidence to continue to invest in electric buses.”

Elsewhere in the country Taranaki Regional Council will receive $308,000 to help buy the first electric bus in their region while Environment Canterbury will receive $6.1m to bring forward the expansion of its electric bus fleet.

In January 2021, the Government announced it would require only zero-emission public transport buses to be purchased from 2025, with a complete decarbonisation of the public transport bus fleet by 2035.