Electric buses Electric buses

Auckland Transport is driving into the future with our new electric buses.

Electric bus trial

The two buses are part of a trial funded by the Government’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and Auckland Transport. EECA provided $500,000 to support the purchase of two e-buses and two chargers.

In 2018, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter launched the e-buses that have been operating on the City Link service. They run from 6am to 9pm each day and are charged overnight at the bus depot where the chargers have been installed.

The learnings so far suggest that the e-buses only use 60% of their battery power on average after a day’s worth of work. The cost of running the e-buses is approximately 59 cents less per kilometre travelled compared to conventional diesel buses on the same City Link route. Since their launch (as of July 30th, 2018), the e-buses have avoided 1,880 litres of diesel and 4 tonnes of CO2.

In October 2017, Mayor Goff signed Auckland up to the C40 Fossil Fuel Free Streets Declaration as a way to fight air pollution, improve the quality of life for all citizens and help tackle the global threat of climate change. Mayor Goff pledged to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and ensure that a major area of the city is zero emission by 2030. The launch signals a positive step towards achieving this goal. 

Electric buses are better for the climate, they are quieter, and keep the air we breathe clean. The e-buses have already received positive feedback from both customers and drivers, especially noting the reduced noise levels compared to diesel buses.

The trial will help AT develop a Zero Emissions Bus Roadmap for Auckland. The buses will help us accurately estimate whether electric buses meet the needs of our customers, what routes they can operate on and, of course, whether they're commercially viable.