Business Case retention of Wellington’s trolley bus network
A coalition of Wellington organisations called for a professional business case study to maintain Wellington’s trolley
bus network at the first meeting of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Sustainable Transport Committee meeting of
this year on 14th February. “Wellington’s zero emission trolley fleet is a strategic asset in a city already committed
to phase out it’s dirty fossil fuel buses” says Paul Bruce, former three term regional councillor.
Mr Bruce spoke on behalf of the Civic Trust, Sustainable Energy Forum (SEF), Living Streets, FIT, Save the Basin,
OraTaiao, Dr. Susan Krumdieck, requesting that a business case be carried out. The Architectural Centre sent in a
separate petition supporting retention of the Wellington’s trolley bus fleet.
“Council ambitions to design and build a new type of natural gas powered bus would increase greenhouse emissions and is
an experiment too risky for rate payers” says Mr Bruce. Its historic decision to destroy the trolley system is an unsafe
and based on incorrect information and high-end costs. It also contradicts the Council’s own Electric Vehicle officer
report encouraging low emission bus fleets. “It is another example of the Council’s left hand not knowing what its right
hand is doing” says Mr Bruce.
Mr Bruce added, “existing trolleys have higher passenger capacity than battery buses and they can be used with the
planned bus route network and tender process.
More than 300 cities around world are operating and expanding trolley bus networks. They are more popular because they
are clean, quiet and quick. Lyon, France has new trolley buses, San Francisco and Seattle have large trolley systems and
Beijing and Shanghai Beijing are recoverting failed battery buses to trolleys. “Other cities are building trolley buses
with new technical developments to improve trolley bus performance” says Mr Bruce.
“GWRC publicly stated goal is an all-electric bus fleet. It follows that the council make an objective assessment of
the trolley buses contribution to city transport needs and environmental impact,” Paul Bruce concluded.