\u201cOur immediate priority is supporting our employees and working through the impacts carefully and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said they would work alongside HBRC and the new operator to help employees interested in opportunities with the new operator.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team looks forward to continuing to deliver school and charter services in the region for many years to come,\u201d Barlow said. <\/p>\n
He said they were proud of the service their team had delivered across Hawke\u2019s Bay for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n
HBRC chair Sophie Siers said the fleet was a significant step for public transport in Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n
She said the new contract would support a cleaner and quieter bus service and reflected one of the council\u2019s strategic priorities, \u201cresponding to a changing climate\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cReducing transport emissions is a practical way we can act on that priority, and an all-electric urban bus fleet is an important step in that direction,\u201d Siers said.<\/p>\n
HBRC regional transport committee chair Neil Kirton said the contract was an important step in preparing for the 2027 Public Transport Network.<\/p>\n
He said it gave the council an operational platform to deliver the next stage of public transport with a fleet and service model built for the future network.<\/p>\n
Tranzit Group managing director Paul Snelgrove said Tranzit had a long-standing commitment to Hawke\u2019s Bay, and were excited to build on their existing presence.<\/p>\n
He said Tranzit was the first to bring electric buses to New Zealand in 2018 and had since helped introduce them to other regional areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing electric buses to Hawke\u2019s Bay is an exciting step for both the team and the community,\u201d Snelgrove said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir local experience, technical expertise, and commitment to cleaner transport will help make the change from diesel buses to a fully electric fleet successful. Passengers will also benefit from quieter, smoother, and more modern buses.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said they hoped many of the Napier and Hastings urban bus drivers would join the Tranzit team.<\/p>\n
The buses will be charged at Tranzit\u2019s Whakat\u016b and Onekawa depots.<\/p>\n
The new contract is expected to deliver brand new zero-emission vehicles, with CCTV inside and outside, and audio and visual announcements on all buses.<\/p>\n
HBRC transport manager Russell Turnbull said the service operates under a single contract covering driver wages, operating expenses, and the purchase of the buses. <\/p>\n
He said the total cost of the fleet has not yet been determined.<\/p>\n
Napier and Hastings public transport is funded through a targeted rate paid by Napier and Hastings ratepayers, central government co-investment through NZTA, and passenger fares.<\/p>\n
An HBRC spokesperson said the contract was awarded after a formal selection process. The council will now work with Tranzit Group to help get the service up and running.<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cOur immediate priority is supporting our employees and working through the impacts carefully and responsibly.\u201d He said they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[248556,806,1561,30482,118173,2199,24004,14037,28828,71,29419,2219,1976,11517,111,43,139,1536,69,1523,8814,15556,5412,1120,61,248555,8733,1533,379],"class_list":["post-496950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-allelectric","tag-as","tag-bay","tag-bus","tag-buses","tag-city","tag-coming","tag-electric","tag-fleet","tag-from","tag-go","tag-gone","tag-hawkes","tag-loses","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-over","tag-routes","tag-runs","tag-streets","tag-takes","tag-to","tag-tranzit","tag-urban","tag-will","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}