Trolleybuses in Wellington
A new trolleybus at Wellington Railway Station.
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Trolleybuses in Wellington have been part of the Wellington public transport system since 1949. They are the only trolleybuses operating commercially in Oceania and the last major system operating in a country that drives on the left.
The first route operated between 1924 and 1932. 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 network was approved in 1945, when it was decided to gradually replace trams with trolleybuses, preferred for being more manoeuvrable and "more modern", and preferred over diesel or petrol buses due to better traction on steep slopes.
At its maximum extent the network stretched for around 50 kilometres – in addition to current services, trolleybuses went to Oriental Bay, Northland and Wadestown, and routes in the central city were more extensive.
The fleet peaked at 119 vehicles, including Crossley Dominion, British United Traction RETB1 (in various forms) and Volvo B10M and B58 models.
In 2007 a new fleet of 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 began in late 2007 and finished in 2009.
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Wikipedia