No street will be too steep for Dunedin’s new electric buses which will soon be transporting passengers around the city’s hill suburbs.
In an effort to combat carbon emissions, the Otago Regional Council, in partnership with Ritchies Transport Dunedin, will introduce 11 new electric buses (e-buses) to Dunedin this month.
The buses will service some of the city’s hilliest routes, Ridge Runner, Shiel Hill to Opoho and Pine Hill to Calton Hill, and bus company Ritchies is confident they will be up to the challenge.
Ritchies director of commercial Amish Vallabh said the buses worked well during testing, needing only one charge a day.
"We’ve tried them on the hills with the air conditioning cranked up, and they’re performing better than we expected."
He could not confirm the total cost of the new buses, but said a single e-bus would usually cost $500,000 to $700,000.
"Not only will this help improve air quality in Dunedin, it’s a significant contribution towards the city’s 2030 zero carbon goals."
Combined, the e-buses would reduce fuel consumption by almost 240,000 litres of diesel a year, he said.
Cr Noone explained the council wanted to lead the way in reducing Dunedin’s carbon footprint.
"We’re finally walking the talk today, which is good.
"This is where the rubber hits the road."
He was proud to be a part of the "team that’s going for green" and said the e-buses were a "luxury" for the drivers.
Ritchies had almost finished training its drivers in preparation, but Mr Bharati said it was not much different from driving the diesel buses.
"You used to rotate the keys; now we are clicking things."
