None of the Otago Regional Council’s buses are electric, and while there are moves to change this, it is not likely to happen in the immediate future.
Transport manager Garry Maloney said despite a policy announcement made pre-election by Labour to stop the introduction of new fossil-fuled buses in 2028, the Government was yet to follow that up with policy outlining how it would work.
But, separately, the council had been collaborating with other regional councils on a project investigating how decarbonating the national urban bus fleets could work.
That project was still in its planning stages, he said.
It was not possible to estimate the cost of changing its fleet of about 100 buses across Dunedin and Queenstown to electric vehicles, but staff believed the purchase of a new electric bus was considerably more than a fossil-fuelled bus.
However, its operating costs were less.
Introducing electric buses would require infrastructure changes to enable batteries to be recharged. The switch could require an increased fleet size, as buses would need to be rotated throughout the day so their batteries could be recharged, Mr Maloney said.
"The collaborative work needs to happen before we can estimate the cost of transitioning the fleet used in Otago."
It was likely the move away from carbon-powered to more sustainable fuels would happen over a period of years as older buses were replaced, he said.
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Now look, I'm just trying to help here. With enough patronage to the holy grail of public transport, passengers could indeed collectively pedal the buses, thus assisting the electric motors and saving battery usage. That way the DCC are happy because citizens are 'cycling' without being out in the elements and are 'protected' from motorists, The cycleways could double as bus lanes, and the regional council are happy because buses have become free to operate with fares still charged. With some sponsoring from Les Mills and Jenny Craig, this could be sold as a fitness regime where passengers purchase a travel 'subscription'. The health benefits would be ENORMOUS!
All aboard!!! Meet the Flintstones! Maybe Jack Brazel could be a driver with his very own set of pedals and the all important steering wheel? Maybe even Aaron could be be useful and actually assist in pedaling the bus instead of hitchiking with fossil fuel burning motorists? Maybe we'll see a pig fly past the bus?
Like I said, I'm just trying to help.........