Greater Christchurch moves closer to all-electric bus future with latest arrival of vehicles

Kinetic is helping Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) transform the Greater Christchurch bus network with the introduction of 21 new zero-emission buses (ZEB) in the latest tranche of public transport improvements.

The arrival of new greener, cleaner buses takes the region’s total ZEB fleet to 65, which now represents more than a quarter of urban buses. Bus operator Kinetic has deployed additional electric charging infrastructure to help power the growing fleet.

“Our urban bus fleet is now 26% electric. To have 21 more buses connecting people across Greater Christchurch every day, with zero emissions, is progress that I'm really proud of,” said Councillor Vicky Southworth at an event marking the milestone. 

“It is really special getting together with other public transport advocates, groups and organisations to talk about the new additions, and how we see that number growing in future,” Cr Southworth said.

With the introduction of the new electric buses, the urban fleet is expected to reduce Metro’s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by an estimated 22.8% percent, or 3,600 tonnes annually, when compared to the existing diesel fleet.

Environment Canterbury Public Transport general manager Stewart Gibbon said there was huge benefit for the city and environment with 2.8 million more Metro trips taken in Greater Christchurch over the last 12 months.

“While we're working away at the electrification of our fleet, we want to also acknowledge that every time one of our customers chooses to travel with Metro rather than driving a petrol vehicle, they're directly contributing to reducing our region's carbon emissions,” he said.

Kinetic’s Managing Director for New Zealand Calum Haslop congratulated Environment Canterbury for driving public transport transformation at scale.

“Welcoming these latest vehicles into service is a significant step towards decarbonising public transport in the region, with one in four urban buses now zero-emissions, making public transport an even more attractive option,” he said.

“That also represents over one third of the buses Kinetic operates in Christchurch, which are supported by additional charging infrastructure and plenty of smart technologies that allow us to improve the resource efficiency of our operations.”

“We’re enormously excited to be in the front seat leading this transformation. I’d like to thank our people and our partners, including Environment Canterbury, for all the effort, passion and commitment to the continued roll-out of more sustainable transport options.”

10 of the vehicles are funded through the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)/Waka Kotahi’s Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) programme. The others are funded through a combination of NZTA National Land Transport Fund and Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury). All 21 are owned by Kinetic.

Kinetic now operates more than 260 ZEBs and 8 electrified depots in New Zealand across Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington and Tauranga across. This includes Australasia’s largest fully electric depot in New Lynn, Auckland, which houses 86 ZEBs including Auckland’s first ZEB Double Decker.

The company is the largest ZEB owner and operator in Australasia, with a fleet of 320 ZEBs and 10 electrified depots across New Zealand and Australia.

Further enquiries
Barrett Gibson
Head of Marketing & Communications
0424 647 488
barrett.gibson@wearekinetic.com