Electric buses pull into in Waipā
SARAH MORCOM
Any faithful “diesel head” bus driver would never go back after getting behind the wheel of Tranzit’s fully electric buses, Tranzit Coachlines area manager Connor Mear says.
Mearis a big fan himself. He drove a horde of guests from Waikato Regional Council’s launch event to bless and welcome the first of six new EVs that will replace the diesel buses that currently operate the Cambridge (20) and Te Awamutu (24) services. “It’s a lot quieter, super quiet,” he said. “It’s just comfortable. You’re not bumping around, you’re not hearing the rattles.
“With the brakes you can put regenerative power back into the bus. So as we go up and down hills we might lose some power, but as you come back down you regain it.”
He reckons that any bus driver who tries out the vehicles will agree, even those who praise the old diesel buses.
“We had drivers in our urban operations down in Wellington who were absolute petrol heads, diesel heads, would never get away from a combustion engine. But you put them behind this and they wouldn’t go back.”
The launch ceremony took place in Cambridge, where the bus was blessed by Kaumatua Atutahi and Rangiuia ( Ngāti Korokī Kahukura), followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ride-along experience was indeed quiet, save the sound of the air conditioning, and Tanzit’s project manager James Howard sounding off a few fun facts about the bus.
Its battery power is 508 kilowatts, the equivalent of six or seven Teslas, Howard said, and they have a range of about 400km.
“As a business organisation we certainly know what EVs are the way forward, so we’re pretty proud to be here. I think this is the first true intercity electric operation,” Howard said. “We’ve also got net zero electricity for these buses, although don’t ask me how that all works.”
“We also average at about 400 km a day per bus, whereas more urban buses are about 230, so we’re almost doubling that.”
Although quieter and longer lasting, the electric buses can’t do everything the same as Tranzit’s diesel buses. Because room is made for the batteries, the EV buses can only seat 37 passengers, compared to a standard Tranzit bus which seats 51 or 53.
However there’s also room on the EVs for 38 additional passengers to stand, and as Waikato Regional Council Angela Strange pointed out, the real focus is on reducing emissions.
“Ultimately we hope to reduce emissions from private cars in the Waikato region by about 1.4 million tons per annum between 2025 and 2050,” Strange said.
The other good news is that from Monday, these services double in frequency, and we know that will make a huge difference to people’s schedules, and will make things much more convenient.
“Double-decker buses are also on order, and expected in August. We will make sure it is a service which is too convenient and too popular to not use.
“Clean, reliable, and frequent. There’s not much more you can ask for.”
The new higher frequency EV bus services for Te Awamutu an Cambridge began on Monday April 15.