24 April 2018

First of Wellington region’s new buses arrive in Wairarapa

The first of Tranzit Group’s new buses have arrived in Wellington region, with Wairarapa commuters first up to experience their new fleet from April 30.

Twelve brand new Metrocity buses arrived in Auckland from the United Kingdom and were driven direct to Tranzit’s Wairarapa depot to be kitted out with Metlink livery, Snapper scanners and ticketing machines.

The 12 new buses are the first batch of a total of 114 Optare Metrocity vehicles being shipped to New Zealand from the United Kingdom manufacturer. They are part of Tranzit’s new fleet of 234 buses for the Wellington region, which also comprises fully electric double-deckers being built in Tauranga.

Five of the newly arrived Optare buses will begin work in the Wairarapa from April 30, operating routes in Featherston, Martinborough and Masterton.

“The remaining buses won’t be sitting idle, though,” says Tranzit Group managing director Paul Snelgrove. “We’ll be using them for driver training throughout the region ahead of our launch of services in the Hutt Valley and Wellington.”

Mr Snelgrove said he was thrilled to be launching its brand new buses in Wairarapa.

“While we’re providing brand new buses and services throughout the Wellington region, getting our new Optare buses running in the Wairarapa first is really special for us.

“The Wairarapa is where we’re from and where we live. We may have grown into a national business over the past 90 years but this is still our home.

“So it’s a real thrill for us to be able to make such an important investment to provide the people of Wairarapa with what will be part of the finest public transport system in the country.”

The Optare Metrocity buses have been purpose-built to meet the demands of the Wellington region’s commuter network.

“They’re top-of-the-line,” says Mr Snelgrove. “Being Euro 6 certified, they meet the toughest emissions standard in the world. They also weigh much less than comparable vehicles, meaning they use less fuel and cause less wear and tear on roads.

“The Wellington region’s going to have the safest, greenest bus fleet to have ever operated on Kiwi roads.”

ENDS

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