Depots to house new buses

A series of new and refurbished depots are popping up around Wellington to house the capital’s new fleet of buses.

The five depots in Wellington and the Hutt Valley are being established by Wairarapa based transport operator Tranzit as it prepares to take over a large proportion of the region’s bus routes from July.

Tranzit’s Tranzurban division will run routes in parts of Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua. NZ Bus, which lost many of its route contracts to Tranzit, will maintain some presence in and around central Wellington.

The depots will service the trans-

NewDepots

Upper Hutt, Park St - 30 bus parks Lower Hutt, Eastern Hutt Rd - 43 bus parks Grenada, Antilles Place - 73 bus parks, 18 double-decker bus parks Refurbished Depot: Kilbirnie, Rongotai Rd - 20 bus parks, 20 double-decker bus parks Leased Depot: Wainuiomata, Main Rd - 17 bus parks port operator’s urban routes with new bases being built in Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Grenada while sites in Kilbirnie and Wainuiomata will be refurbished and leased respectively.

The newly built depots will house workshops, washing stations, office blocks and parks for between 30 and 91 buses.

Tranzit has ordered a new fleet of 234 buses for its Wellington routes - including the Euro 6 diesel and Kiwi Bus Builders electric double-deckers.

Tranzit managing director Paul Snelgrove said the depots were an exciting development for the company.

‘‘[The depots are] a long-term commitment to Wellington and the Hutt. We have a totally new fleet.

‘‘We’ve put a big commitment into [operations in Wellington] and we’re excited about it.’’

The depots are expected to be ready by mid-June.