Australasian Bus & Coach - May 2018

(^20) ABCMay 2018busnews.com.au
TRANZIT NZ LANDS
NEW UK-BUILT BUSES
GREATER WELLINGTON CITY
commuters can now have their
first trip to or from the city
onboard one of Tranzit Group’s
new Optare Metrocity buses.
The brightly coloured buses
are operated by Tranzurban
Wellington (a division of Tranzit
Group) and are configured
in 10.1-metre (MC10130) and
10.8-metre (MC10820) lengths,
which are capable of carrying
up to 55 passengers and have
been built specifically to service
the Greater Wellington routes.
The smaller 10.1-m buses will be
used around Wellington’s steep
and winding city streets.
Both the shorter MC10130 and
the longer MC10820 derivatives
of the Metrocity buses have been
fitted with the higher output
130kW (174hp) engines.
Tranzit Group is one of New
Zealand’s public transport
operators and is based in
Masterton in the Wairarapa
region of the North Island.
Tranzurban driver trainer Tua
Tarara, who drove the bus to
the official launch at The British
High Commission grounds at
Karori, a suburb of Wellington,
said that the bus handled the
narrow car-lined streets with
ease, courtesy of a combination
of great manoeuvrability and an
excellent view of surroundings
Above:
British High
Commissioner
Helen Smith,
Tranzit driver
trainer Tua Tarara
and Optare
President Graham
Belgum
from the driver’s seat. The
official launch – which was
held on April 19, 2018 – was
attended by representatives
from the Greater Wellington
Regional Council, Optare Group,
Tranzit Group, Buscorp Oceania
and media.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony
was performed by Optare
president Graham Belgum
and acting British High
Commissioner Helen Smith,
who said that “as a new mother”
she could appreciate the
benefits that will be gained by
parents of infants and young
children when making use of
the dedicated pushchair and
pram bay, situated at the front,
on the nearside of the bus.
Naturally, all buses have
wheelchair access and a
dedicated wheelchair bay
situated on the opposite side
from the pram bay.
Another feature of the new
buses is a bike rack fitted to the
front of the bus which folds out
and has a two-bike capacity.
Chris Laidlaw, Chair of the
Greater Wellington Regional
Council explained the purchase
of 114 Optare buses succinctly
when he said, “At Greater
Wellington we’re on our way
to a more integrated public
transport network, so we can
take more people to more
places, more often, at the same
time as reducing emissions”.
Optare Metrocity buses were
chosen for their Euro 6-certified
Mercedes OM934 engines and
for the unique monocoque
construction, which reduces
the bus’s unladen weight by
900kg, allowing a fully loaded
bus to operate at under 12
tonnes GVM, it’s claimed.
“... we’re on our
way to a more
integrated public
transport network”
NEWS