Final trips for old trolleys

DUTY DONE: Bus driver Jack Bovy gets a last look at the trolley buses.

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Four pieces of Wellington history rode into the sunset and, in typical fashion, one broke down.

The four remaining Volvo trolley buses were retired from service on Monday, after being edged off Wellington's streets by a new fleet of low-floor buses introduced in the past year, each at a cost of $500,000.

Three of the old buses plied their final trips without a hitch, but Volvo No 227 pulled down the overhead wires as it travelled along Bowen St and had an ignominious end - it had to be towed back to the Kilbirnie depot.

The four buses were the last of about 70 that entered service in the early 1980s, replacing Wellington's first trolleys, which in turn replaced the city's trams in the 1950s and 1960s.

They won't disappear entirely - one has been given to Foxton Museum, and another is going to the Wellington Omnibus Society. The other two buses will be used for parts.

NZ Bus spokeswoman Siobhan O'Donovan said the four Volvo buses were put on specific routes so that bus enthusiasts could catch a final glimpse of them before they were retired.

Wellington Tramways Union secretary Kevin O'Sullivan remembers driving the old Volvos when they were first put into service.

Just like the new fleet of trolley buses, the Volvos suffered their share of teething problems, including a tendency to draw so much power off the overhead wires that older trolley buses ground to a halt.

"They had a lot of trouble to begin with but once they sorted it out they were excellent," he said.

"They were great to drive. I preferred them over a diesel - they were smoother, quieter and you could get comfortable in them.

"Some people hated them and if you were like that, then they were a disaster. But I liked them."