New Zealand’s biggest and most diverse bus operator, Go Bus Transport, is spending over $13 million upgrading parts of its urban passenger fleet in Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawke’s Bay.
The company has commissioned 29 new buses to be built by Rolleston-based Designline Bus Pacific. The new buses will all be on the road by August next year and will bring additional capacity to routes in these major centres around New Zealand.
Go Bus Managing Director Calum Haslop says the company’s initiative is both a significant boost for its national operations and a “win” for Christchurch manufacturing.
“For our passengers, the 29 new buses will represent a very modern urban bus experience, with an emphasis on safety, quality, comfort and durability.
“This major investment is part of the company’s growth and replacement strategy, which aims to give our passengers the highest standard of bus transport experience by progressively modernising our fleet and retiring buses well before the industry standard. This strategy ensures Go Bus maintains the youngest average age fleet in the country.
“We have a long and proud history partnering with New Zealand bus builders and these new additions to our fleet will feature Euro 5 compliant diesel engines that meet the world’s toughest emission standards as well as being economical.”
“Our investment in new vehicles will ultimately lead to increases in passenger numbers on our Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawke’s Bay bus routes. This is a significant contribution towards our partnership goals with regional councils to help ease congestion in these major cities.
“Of the 29 new buses, seven will be used in Dunedin, five in Hawkes Bay and the remainder in Christchurch and throughout our other operations around the country,” says Mr Haslop.
