Environment Canterbury has welcomed funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency towards its continued work to decarbonise its fleet.
It has received funding from the first round of a $136-million contestable fund, which aims to support public transport authorities to meet the costs of initiatives to accelerate the decarbonisation of the public transport bus fleet.
Environment Canterbury Chair, Peter Scott said he was delighted to have secured the funding.
“This will enable us to purchase 12 new electric buses to replace existing diesel ones,” Mr Scott said.
“This is a continuation of the work we have already been doing in this space – currently 20-percent of our fleet is zero emissions.”
The new vehicles can be expected on Canterbury roads sometime next year, he said.
“Delivery times for new electric vehicles are typically six to 12-months, so it will be a little while before they are in service.”
Mr Scott said the electric buses can travel up to 500 kilometres between charges.
“As our buses typically travel around 300 kilometres a day on Metro’s network, it’s clear that they are more than capable of completing a full day’s work,” he said.
In the last 12 months, Environment Canterbury has ordered seven new electric vehicles to support its network expansion.
“We are proud of this continually growing number. This goes hand in hand with our commitment for no new diesel buses from 2025.”
