Kinetic has announced the start of new two nine-year contracts with the Otago Regional Council, which will seek to expand the operator’s existing Dunedin operation with the addition of 37 new electric buses, 30 new drivers, and routes including a new daily service connecting Ōamaru to Dunedin.
The service will be operated by an electric bus, and is expected to improve accessibility and connectivity whilst giving coastal communities a daily link to the services and opportunities Dunedin offers.
The expansion represents a 25 million USD investment in zero-emission infrastructure and fleet acquisition in Dunedin, and will see the full electrification of Go Bus’s Portsmouth Drive depot, which is now home to the South Island’s first overhead gantry charging system and, combined with ground-mounted charging, is capable of charging up to 38 electric buses at once.
Go Bus Chief Operating Officer Ben Barlow said:We've operated in Dunedin for many years, and from today we're running more of the network. That's a responsibility we take seriously, and our focus is on delivering services that are safe, reliable and accessible for the people who depend on them.
We're also excited to be building on the work we've already done in Dunedin to support Otago Regional Council's transition to a zero-emission bus fleet.
Kinetic Executive General Manager, Electrification, Kayne Baas said:We've drawn on Kinetic's experience delivering overhead gantry charging across our global operations in designing the system at Portsmouth Drive.
It builds on the charging infrastructure we installed at our Mosgiel depot last year, and adds to the ground-mounted charging we operate in Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga, Wellington and Invercargill, as well as overhead gantry charging at our Glenfield and City depots in Auckland.
