A Geely electric articulated vehicle of the type being procured, with Metlink livery digitally added. Photo: Supplied / Metlink
Wellington will soon have articulated buses, with five ordered for Metlink's Route 2 between the suburb of Karori and Te Aro's Courtenay Place.
It was tested in January, with a bus borrowed from Auckland.
It is a much-needed investment for Wellington's busiest route, Greater Wellington's Transport Committee chair Thomas Nash said.
Each bus can carry 112 passengers - about 65 percent more than a standard single-decker.
"Route 2 buses provide about three million passenger trips annually, a number expected to double over the next 10 years," Nash said.
It is the alternative to double-decker buses, which cannot fit through Wellington's oldest road tunnel - the Karori Tunnel.
The route the articulated buses will drive on will later be expanded to the suburb of Seatoun - which also has a tunnel that a double-decker bus cannot fit through, but required high-capacity bus stops.
A spokesperson for Metlink said Wellington City Council had only allowed the installation of high-capacity bus stops in Karori.
"In the future, we hope to work with Wellington City Council on traffic resolutions to allow high-capacity bus stops on Route 2 between Courtenay Place and Miramar/Seatoun."
The owner of the Instagram public transport fan account if**kinglovemetlink, who wished to remain anonymous, told RNZ the buses were much needed.
"As a strong advocate for public transport, and public transport infrastructure, I think the addition of articulated buses to the Wellington bus fleet would aid greatly in the movement of people in Wellington.
"The number 2 route is one of the busier routes in Wellington, and due to it being required to travel through a tunnel, [it is restricted] from being assigned double-decker, high-capacity buses. The addition of articulated buses to the fleet solves this problem.
"Overall, I think these buses will serve Wellington greatly."
The buses are expected to enter service in early 2027.
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