Celebrating our acceleration into our electric future

An event has been held to celebrate Metro's 21 newest electric buses.

The buses, which will be used on our urban fleet, bring our total number of electric vehicles (EVs) to 65. 

Four of the buses arrived in January, with the remaining 17 having arrived in the last month. 10 of the new EVs were funded through New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)/Waka Kotahi’s Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) programme. 

The other buses were funded through a combination of NZTA's National Land Transport Fund and Environment Canterbury’s 2023/24 Annual Plan and 2024–2034 Long-Term Plan. 

Two of the new vehicles are set to be used on the Orbiter route, while the other 19 are being deployed across the network where they will get maximum use. 

With the addition of these 21 new EVs, our urban fleet is expected to reduce Metro’s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by an estimated 22.8% percent when compared to our existing diesel fleet, equivalent to over 3,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide saved annually, compared to a fully diesel fleet. 

Likewise, the emissions reduction from these electric buses includes over 22,000 kilograms less nitrogen oxide emissions and 193 kilograms less particulate matter, which is also a win for air quality. 

Our electric vehicle fleet is set to increase to 70 by the end of the year – with the arrival of another five buses expected over the next few months. This will help push us closer to our goal of having our urban fleet fully zero emissions by 2035. 

All 21 of the new EVs are owned by Kinetic.