Kauri Street Bus Depot - Miramar
Metlink are planning to develop a new electric bus depot in Kauri Street, Miramar.
Metlink wants to hear from you and invite the public to information drop-in sessions to learn more about the planned bus depot, ask questions, and tell them what you think.
Information drop-in sessions:
- Thursday 5 September, 6-8pm, 28 Miro Street, Miramar
- Saturday 7 September, 11am-1pm, 28 Miro Street, Miramar
Share your feedback:
- Come on down to the drop-in sessions
- Email info@metlink.org.nz
Feedback open from 5 – 21 Sept.
We want you to provide feedback on how this development will impact the community, what factors need to be considered, and suggestions around fencing design opportunities. Please state ‘Kauri Street Depot’ at the beginning of your feedback or questions.
Background
Greater Wellington Regional Council recently voted to adopt its Public Transport Asset Control Strategy that agreed to more public transport asset ownership and the development of bus depots.
The development of this electric bus depot helps Metlink stay on track to reduce bus emissions.
Metlink currently has 103 electric buses, 22 percent of the total bus fleet is electric and growing. Securing prime land such as this is key to ensuring sustainability and reliability of key public transport infrastructure in the future.
Description
Metlink has leased land on Kauri Street, Miramar and is planning to develop an electric bus depot on the site.
This depot was originally proposed at Lyall Bay, but the Kauri Street site is more fit for purpose and an option that only became available recently.
The site, between Kauri and Miro streets, is already home to Metlink’s Airport Express electric bus fleet as well as rental car parking.
The expansion of this existing depot will be staged with plans to take buses from 2026 onwards.
The depot will provide:
- Bus parking and charging
- Staff amenities
- Maintenance facilities
- On-site staff car parking
Read more: Metlink bus depot plan moving to new location
Timings to expand the depot:
- Community engagement – September 2024
- Planning and design – October 2024 through to early 2025
- Construction of initial stage – 2025
- Additional electric buses on site from 2026
- Full completion of depot development – to be determined but not before 2029
Benefits
This site is a great location with it being adjacent to State Highway 1 and being partially developed will help reduce the building costs and time frames to expand the depot.
The development of this electric bus depot helps Metlink stay on track to reduce bus emissions.
Securing prime land such as this is key to ensuring sustainability and reliability of key public transport infrastructure in the future.
Impact
As with any development, Metlink is committed to understanding what impact this has on the community. Community considerations are noise, operating times, bus movements, vibrations, street parking, and visuals of perimeter fences.
When the depot is operating at full capacity, Metlink anticipates a similar number of buses will access the site on a daily basis to the current number of cars - around 200 (there are currently 300 rental vehicles stored on the site). The buses will be electric with relatively quiet engines.
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Frequently asked questions
What happened to the proposed Lyall Bay bus depot?
Metlink relinquished its lease of the Lyall Bay site in favour of the lease on the Kauri Street site.
Plans for the Lyall Bay site are a matter for the new landowner.
Why is the bus depot moving to Miramar?
The Miramar site is better for a bus depot. It’s bigger, adjacent to major bus routes and adjacent to State Highway 1 so, fewer buses will need to travel on residential roads than they would if the depot was in Lyall Bay. The site has also been partially developed, which will help reduce building costs and time frames. This site is more fit for purpose and was not available until recently.
Why didn’t Metlink lease the Kauri Street site to start with?
The land was not available in 2022 when we decided to lease the Lyall Bay site.
What is planned for the Lyall Bay site now?
Metlink is unable to comment on what is planned for the Lyall Bay site.
What will happen to the current tenants of the Kauri St site?
Metlink is unable to comment as this is a matter for Wellington International Airport Limited. We can however share that the current Airport Express bus depot will remain.
What will be the impacts on adjacent residential housing?
Impacts may include noise, traffic and visually. We will implement design solutions, such as acoustic fencing and planting to mitigate any impact.
How will traffic flow around the site?
Metlink is planning for buses to enter and exit the depot at the southern end of the site. Buses will not use Miro Street, Kedah Street or the northern end of Kauri Street as part of normal operations.
Most buses will leave the depot before 7am and return after 8pm which is outside of peak traffic.
Will there be increased bus movements using the residential streets surrounding the Miramar site?
The proximity to State Highway 1 and major bus routes means that there is likely to be minimal increase in bus movements in the adjacent residential streets.
Will parking around the depot site be affected?
No. Metlink is planning to include onsite parking for staff vehicles.
Will there still be on-street parking around the block?
Yes, there will still be parking around the block.
What about construction, when will this start?
Construction is planned to commence sometime in 2025.
Will this affect any businesses in the local area?
No, we don’t anticipate the development of the bus depot to impact local businesses.
Will this affect the surrounding streets?
There will be a small increase in traffic. Metlink undertook independent traffic assessments into the traffic impact of increased bus movements in and around the depot which found this to be minimal.
When will the new bus depot be up and running?
Metlink are still working through planning. They anticipate the site would be available to start receiving new electric buses from sometime in early 2026.
What hours will be the depot be operating?
Buses will start leaving the depot from around 5am, with the majority of buses leaving between 5.30am and 7am. Buses will return to the depot in the evening from 6pm, with the last bus returning at around 1am. Approximately 50% of the buses will return to the depot during the daytime. Electric buses are very quiet.
How many buses will be using the new Kauri Street bus depot?
Initial indications are that the site may be able to accommodate around 200 buses.
What will be the impact of the change of site in terms of timing and cost?
There will be minimal impact. Metlink believe that the Kauri St site can be developed within similar timeframe to the Lyall Bay site with costs being less than was expected at Lyall Bay.
How much has Metlink spent on the Lyall Bay site? Will this money be lost?
The majority of lease costs that Metlink has paid for the Lyall Bay site, to date, have been recovered by sub-leasing the site. There will be no net cost to Metlink incurred through this decision.
What will happen to the CERF that Metlink was awarded to fund the Lyall Bay Stage 1 development?
Metlink will work with Waka Kotahi on matters relating to CERF funding.
When the buses are charging, will this drain our local power supply?
Metlink is working with Wellington Electricity to ensure the depot has sufficient power without impacting supply to the local vicinity.
How much power will the charging of buses use?
Metlink is working on this with Wellington Electricity and our electric bus charging consultants.
Information drop-in sessions:
- Thursday 5 September, 6-8pm, 28 Miro Street, Miramar
- Saturday 7 September, 11-1pm, 28 Miro Street, Miramar
Share your feedback:
- Come on down to the drop-in sessions
- Email info@metlink.org.nz
We want you to provide feedback on how this development will impact the community, what factors need to be considered, and suggestions around fencing design opportunities. Please state ‘Kauri St Depot’ at the beginning of your feedback or questions.
Feedback open from 5 – 21 Sept.