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The New Zealand government Thursday welcomed news that one of the country's biggest public transport firms is switching to a new form of electric power in a deal worth 30 million U.S. dollars with a U.S. company.
NZ Bus, a subsidiary of New Zealand infrastructure company Infratil, said it would become the world's first passenger transport firm to use electric powertrain technology from California-based Wrightspeed.
Kevin Baker, Infratil executive and NZ Bus chairman, said in a statement that an electric public transport fleet would combine well with Infratil's investments in renewable energy and enable New Zealand to transition to a clean energy public transport system.
Almost 82 percent of New Zealand's electricity came from renewable energy sources, so a transition to electric-powered public transport alongside private vehicles would deliver a step change in reducing the country's carbon footprint, NZ Bus CEO Zane Fulljames said in the statement.
NZ Bus would receive its first Wrightspeed powertrains by mid-2016, and aimed to have its first electric-powered bus on the road by the last quarter of this year.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges said electric vehicles were the future for the public transport sector.
"As we transition to a lower carbon economy, we need to broaden our renewable energy use beyond electricity and increase its use in the transport and industrial heat sectors," Bridges said in a statement.
Last month, New Zealand's most senior environment watchdog threw her weight behind the use of electric vehicles to help combat climate change, saying they were a "no-brainer" for reducing emissions.
"Carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles are a big problem and getting worse. Electric cars must be part of our future," said Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr. Jan Wright.
Electric-vehicle charging stations are slowly popping up around New Zealand, where most people are dependent on owning and driving their own vehicle to travel both long and short distances.
