Waiheke's transition to electric powered transport is gaining momentum

There has been no shortage of exciting news related to the reduction of transport related emissions on Waiheke Island.

The latest edition of EV Talk carried the exciting news that the Waiheke Bus Company is moving to electric buses from October this year. 6 electric buses will initially go into service to be followed by a further five later.

If that wasn't enough, EV Talk also carried an article on the burgeoning EV fleet on the Island. They reckon that it is rapidly becoming the Nissan Leaf capital of New Zealand. EV numbers on the island have doubled in less than a year and on current trends, by the end of the year, 2% of the light vehicle fleet will be electric.

Lindsay Jeff's, local resident and a board member of Carbon Neutral NZ Trust, commented: "the test-drive EVs provided by the large importer GVI is fantastic, especially as Waiheke’s short distances make so much sense for EVs even with their short range (like below 100km for older Leafs). We expect Waiheke to become the dumping ground for old EVs” which should not be seen negative, of course. It’s a huge opportunity for these cars which are cheap to buy and environmentally friendly and cheap to operate".

On the water, things are also happening with Stuff.co.nz reporting on developments to a move to electric powered ferries. There is a possibility of these plying the harbour by 2021.