Trolley decommissioning begins

In just a few weeks the last trolley bus will retire, as the era of the Wellington icon comes to an end.

Greater Wellington’s Chairperson for the Sustainable Transport Committee, Councillor Barbara Donaldson says she will be sad to see the trolley buses go but she is looking forward to Metlink’s new modern buses providing improved services from mid next year.

“The trolley buses have been part of the fabric of Wellington for over sixty years and are as Wellington as the Beehive and Cable Car. It’s going to be sad to not see them travelling our streets anymore but Wellington is growing and Metlink has to grow with it, by creating a new better service for public transport users and investing in the future, not holding onto the past.”

Greater Wellington Regional Council voted in 2014 to stop funding the trolleys as part of a plan to modernise the region’s bus fleet. New diesel and electric buses will begin service in July 2018 – at the same time as new bus operator contracts and an overhauled Wellington city network come into effect. Greater Wellington’s eventual goal is an all-electric fleet.

Power to the network will be shut off at the end of services on 31 October (around 11pm).

“Wellingtonians should see no change to services as the trolley buses are replaced with diesel buses by November 1. The bus services will continue along the same route as the trolleys on the same timetable,” says Cr Donaldson.

“The interim buses are relatively new – between four and eight years old – and most meet the Euro 5 emission standard. The world’s most stringent standard is Euro 6.”
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