A new fleet of 44 electric buses have been deployed in West Auckland.
Auckland Transport (AT) said the fleet included 26 double-decker buses to run on the Western Express WX1 service between Westgate and the city centre.
Each would carry 100 people, boosting the route's capacity by an extra 51,000 seats per week.
"We wouldn't be getting double-deckers if there weren't enough people to go on them, and it shows that West Aucklanders have really embraced the WX1 service," Henderson-Massey Local Board member Dan Collins said in a statement provided by AT.
"And you can charge your phone on them too."
The others would gradually replace diesel buses on the 11T, 11W and 12 routes in West Auckland.
Waitākere Councillor Shane Henderson on an electric double-decker bus. Photo: Auckland Transport / supplied
It brought Auckland's total electric fleet to 224 buses, which AT claimed was the most of any city in Australasia - with more to come.
"We're adding another 31 electric buses to our fleet by the end of June," AT infrastructure and fleet specification manager Edward Wright said.
"By August next year, we will have a fleet of 450 electric buses, which is around a third of the 1350 buses that operates AT's services."
A charging station on one of Auckland's electric double-decker buses. Photo: Auckland Transport / supplied
The plan was for all buses travelling to Auckland's city centre to be electric by 2030, and the rest of the fleet by 2035.
This article was first published by RNZ