Trolleybuses in Wellington
| Wellington trolleybus system | |||||||||||||||
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| A new trolleybus at Wellington Railway Station. | |||||||||||||||
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| Locale | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
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Trolleybuses in Wellington have been part of the Wellington public transport system since 1949. Wellington's trolleybus system is the only one still operating in Oceania.
As of August 2012, three short branch routes were being considered for replacement by diesel buses as part of a major review of bus routes in Wellington City.
History
The first trolleybus route in Wellington operated between 1924 and 1932.[1] It used a single AEC 602, and ran from Thorndon along Hutt Road to Kaiwharawhara.
A trolleybus was chosen over an extension to the Wellington tramway system because a large watermain on the route precluded tram track construction. The service was replaced with diesel buses.
A second and more extensive trolleybus system was approved in 1945, when it was decided to gradually replace the city's trams with trolleybuses. Trolleybuses were preferred over trams for being more manoeuvrable and "more modern", and were preferred over diesel or petrol buses due to better traction on steep slopes.[1]
At its maximum extent the trolleybus network stretched for around 50 kilometres[1] — in addition to current services, trolleybuses went to Oriental Bay, Northland and Wadestown,[2] and routes in the central city were more extensive.
The trolleybus fleet peaked at 119 vehicles, including Crossley Empire, British United Traction RETB1 (in various forms) and Volvo B10M and B58 models.
The trolleybus system has been threatened with closure over the years, mainly on grounds of cost. The growing emphasis on environmentally friendly transport has however prompted campaigns to keep the trolleybuses, and in 2007 it was announced that a new generation of trolleybuses would be funded.[3]
The 60 new trolleybuses were built by DesignLine, in Ashburton, using some components from the previous fleet. They have a greater passenger capacity than previous trolleybuses, are low-floor and incorporate other improvements — they are expected to de-wire less frequently, and the 57 three-axle models are able to operate for short distances off-wire from batteries. The electrical equipment was provided by Eletra Industrial, from Brazil.
Delivery of the new trolleybuses began in late 2007[4] and finished in 2009.[5]
Operations
Trolleybuses are an integral part of the Wellington bus service. They are owned and operated by GOWellington, part of Infratil's NZ Bus, on behalf of Metlink, the brand name of Greater Wellington Regional Council's public transport network. There are 60 trolleybuses, the current fleet having been delivered in the last few years.[3][5]
Trolleybuses serve the southern, western, and eastern parts of Wellington City, using overhead wires owned by Wellington Cable Car Ltd, a subsidiary of Wellington City Council.
Routes
1 Wellington Railway Station-Island Bay
2 Wellington Railway Station-Miramar
3 Karori Park-Lyall Bay
5 Wellington Railway Station-Hataitai
6 Wellington Railway Station-Lyall Bay
7 Wellington Railway Station-Kingston
9 Wellington Railway Station-Aro St
10 Wellington Railway Station-Newtown Park Zoo
11 Wellington Railway Station-Seatoun
Routes operate all day every day, except 5 and 6 (Monday-Friday peak hours only), 9 and 10 (Monday-Friday only, not evenings). There are insufficient trolleybuses to operate all journeys on these routes, and diesel buses operate daily. In addition, some journeys on route 6 run beyond the wires to Molesworth St, and are operated by diesel buses; evening services are usually operated by diesel buses; and trolleybuses do not run at the weekend.
Route descriptions
The main city-centre trolleybus corridor is along the Golden Mile from Wellington Railway Station (terminus of all routes except the 3) via Lambton Quay and Willis St (served by all routes) to Courtenay Place (served by routes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6).
To the west, route 3 travels to Karori Park via Glenmore Street and the Karori Tunnel, connecting into the Golden Mile south of the Railway Station.
To the south-west, routes 7 and 9 run along Willis St (northbound), Victoria St (southbound) before splitting — the 9 runs west up the Aro Valley, the 7 climbs the hill southwards to Brooklyn, Mornington and Kingston.
To the south, two routes run to Newtown (10 and 11 via Taranaki St, 1 and 3 via the Basin Reserve), with the 1 continuing south to Island Bay, the 10 terminating at Wellington Zoo, and the 3 and 11 turning east to Kilbirnie, where they meet routes 2 and 6 via the bus tunnel and Hataitai (where route 5 has a large terminal loop). From Kilbirnie routes 3 and 6 run south to Lyall Bay, the 2 and 11 east to Hobart St: the 11 continues east to Seatoun and the 2 heads north to Miramar.
Route closure plans
Following a review of Wellington City bus services, Greater Wellington Regional Council revealed in February 2012 that it was proposing to close the Seatoun, Aro Street and Hataitai routes, and reduce the Lyall Bay route to peak hours only, on account of planned route changes not matching the existing trolley bus overhead wire network.[6]
Following public consultation on the proposed new network, there was a public outcry over the removal of large amounts of Wellington's trolleybus network - mainly the Seatoun route, which would leave Taranaki Street and from Hobart Street to Seatoun with unused trolleybus wire. An amended network map was posted on Greater Wellington Regional Council's website[7] which appeared to designate the following routes to be operated by trolleybuses:
- Wellington Station - Miramar via Hataitai (same as today's Route 2)
- Karori Park - Island Bay via Basin Reserve and Hospital (same as western half of today's Route 3 and most of today's Route 1)
- Wellington Station - Lyall Bay via Taranaki Street, Hospital and Kilbirnie (a major diversion of the Newtown-City portion of the present Route 3 which operates via the Basin Reserve)
- Wellington Station - Kingston via Brooklyn (same as today's Route 7)
- Wellington Station - Seatoun via Hataitai (a major diversion of the Kilbirne-City section of today's Route 11 which runs via Newtown and Taranaki Street)
The network map removes trolleybuses from the following streets:
- Riddiford Street at Constable Street - Wellington Zoo (used by today's Route 10, approx 900m in length)
- Hataitai Road and Waipapa Road (used by today's Route 5, approx 2.1 km in length)
- Aro Street (used by today's Route 9, approx 900m in length)
The wires will likely remain erected in these areas but be unused, similar to those currently on parts of Jervois Quay, Wakefield Street and Featherston Street.
It appears from the map that a route equivalent to today's Route 6 (Wellington Station - Lyall Bay via Hataitai) will not exist in the new network.
See also
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Wellington Trolleybus Page - History
- ↑ Trolleybuses of Australasia - Wellington - Routes
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 $45m deal to rebuild Wellington's trolley buses, Dominion Post, 11 May 2007
- ↑ Greater Wellington - Wellington to get 61 new trolley buses
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Media Release: Last new-generation trolley bus hits the road, NZ Bus, 2 September 2009
- ↑ "Bus changes raise fears in suburbs". The Dominion Post (via Stuff.co.nz). 11 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ↑ "Wellington City Bus Review". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
Further reading
- McNicol, Steve (1989). New Zealand Trolleybus Selections. Elizabeth, SA: Railmac Publications. ISBN 0-949817-68-6.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trolleybuses in Wellington. |
- Knewstubb's Trolley Bus Web Site archive
- GOWellington
- Metlink
- The Wellington Trolleybus Page
- Trolleybuses of New Zealand
- Te Ara - photo of Wellington's first trolleybus.
- GO Wellington Trolley Buses - images of DesignLine trolleybuses taken in 2010.
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