17 Mar 2014

Trolley bus plan has wider implications

12:20 pm on 17 March 2014

Wellington Regional Council says a proposal to phase out the capital's trolley buses has implications for other users of the transport network's infrastructure.

The buses are likely to be replaced by 2017.

Council public transport portfolio leader, Paul Swain, says if the proposal goes ahead, the matter of infrastructure will need to be considered.

He says a number of problems are likely to come out of the woodwork, including the fact that the trolley bus wires carry services including cables owned by the telecommunications company CityLink.

Mr Swain says the council will also need to consider the future of the poles, which hold the lines.

He says these issues will need to be resolved long before the trolley bus contract finishes in 2017.

The proposal will go out for public consultation on Wednesday, and a formal decision will be made in June.