Wellington's trolleybus era has ended

According to a statement made yesterday by the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which is responsible for public transport in the region: 

"The last route using the trolleys is the number 3 from Karori to Kilbirnie, 11:50 pm departure from Karori and arriving at Kilbirnie at 12:18 am."

According to its MetLink website the next few weeks are going to be noted by the removal of 82 km of overhead wiring for the trolleys.

The GWRC's accountants had stated that maintaining the trolleybuses was going to be more expensive than the second-hand diesel buses from Auckland it has bought.  As a pacifier to environmentalists, however, this same webpage states:

"Where possible, replacement buses will be relatively new – between four and eight years old – and most meet the Euro 5 emission standard. The world’s most stringent standard is Euro 6.

"Over time we hope to reach our goal of being the first region in New Zealand to have an all-electric fleet, including New Zealand’s first fully electric double-decker buses."

Exactly what "over time" means remains to be seen. 

So, if your city wants trolleybuses, and drives on the left, there's a fleet of them available in Wellington and overhead wiring for them.

For a history of transport in the Wellington region, including sea and air, see the book Wellington Transport Memories.