Ritchies Transport, Dunedin, New Zealand
Ritchies Transport is one of New Zealand’s largest bus and coach operators with a fleet of more than 1,600 vehicles across a national network of depots. To reach the city of Dunedin’s 2030 zero carbon goals, Ritchies embarked on a project to launch the southern city’s first public electric buses into service and help the Otago Regional Council begin the transition to fully electric public bus transport.
Overview
We worked with Ritchies to support the roll-out of 11 electric Yutong E10 vehicles to the streets and hilly suburbs of Dunedin.
The operator had a tight timeline to adhere to, and a desire to keep trenching to a minimum so they could easily extract infrastructure should their rental not renew.
We worked closely with the operator to meet their requirements, delivering:
- Design and build of a charging solution to support 11 new vehicles
- Our smart charging solution for efficient charging
- New Zealand’s first ‘Battery as-a-Service’ contract, guaranteeing the batteries on board each bus will meet route capacity requirements for the 16 years contract.
The Solutions
In December 2023 construction of the depot began, laying the foundation and ducting to install the low voltage network to support six Hiconics 120kW chargers. This was followed by the installation of the chargers and network meter to manage smart charging of the vehicles by the infrastructure.
To minimise trenching, we specifically designed and delivered above ground electrical cable trays that reduced interference with the existing reinforced concrete pavement.
This solution will enable Ritchies to remove and install the EV charging infrastructure at another site should the depot need to be vacated.
The project was delivered safely, on time and on budget. Thanks to our experience in delivering electrification projects, crucial infrastructure including the Low Voltage Main Switchboard and Controls Assembly were identified early and ordered to allow for the manufacturer lead time.
A Zenobē first in New Zealand
With Ritchies Transport, we executed our first Battery-as-a-Service contract in New Zealand, for 10 of the vehicles in the new fleet.
Battery-as-a-Service removes battery risk by providing the operator a guarantee that the batteries on board will meet route requirements for the first 16 years contract term, with the batteries replaced by us, at our own cost if necessary.
In numbers
Hiconics chargers and associated infrastructure
new all electric buses
