Electric bus trial for East Auckland
Auckland Transport (AT) has launched its latest electric bus, as the next step towards reducing the city’s carbon emissions.
The Yutong E13 is Auckland’s first electric ‘extra-large’ bus, which can carry 78 passengers and is designed specifically to meet New Zealand standards.
Mayor Phil Goff welcomes the trial of the new bus: “Transport accounts for more than 40% of Auckland’s total carbon emissions, so making progress with electric buses capable of travelling long distances is important to reduce our overall carbon footprint,” he says.
“Electric buses help us achieve our climate change goals. They also help improve air quality and reduce pollution from black carbon and nitrogen oxide emitted by the current diesel vehicles, which is a health risk.”
AT’s Manager of Bus Services, Darek Koper, says AT is very excited to have the Yutong E13 in its fleet.
“Trialling this bus on longer distance routes from East Auckland into the city centre will help us compare operational performance, power demand and costs alongside equivalent existing diesel buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses being manufactured for AT. This validates our case studies showing much lower impact from three-axle electric buses on road pavements, compared to standard e-buses.”
Wei Zhou, Director of JW Group says Yutong and JW Group are pleased to continue working closely with Auckland Transport to introduce an extra-large, fully electric bus.
“During 2018 and 2019, a large two axle EV bus was trialled by AT in partnership with Yutong. During this testing, operators in Auckland have shown real world range exceeding 400km a day on a single charge. This builds operational confidence in electric bus fleets to manage the rigorous demands of public transport right now.”
General Manager of Howick & Eastern, Sheryll Otway, says the company is excited to be associated with the first electric bus in the area.
“In 1906 we launched the first motorised bus to complement our horse drawn carriages and now 114 years later, in partnership with Auckland Transport and JW Diesel, we are again changing the way our passengers travel. This is history in the making.”
“Electric buses are a game changer and we’re excited to support Auckland Transport’s vision for a full zero emission bus fleet by 2040. We can’t wait for our customers to get on board and experience the E13 for themselves.”
The Yutong E13 three-axle bus will be on loan to operator, Howick & Eastern (H&E) and will be used on its routes from East Auckland to central city.
JW Group are also the builders of 9 new electric buses being built for the AirportLink service, which will be launched in January next year.
The E13’s 422kWh battery pack is equivalent to the power required to:
- Charge 140,000 cell phones overnight
- Power a family house for two weeks
- Cook 10,000 two-minute noodle packs in the microwave.