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Tranzit: From yesterday’s tech to tomorrow’s travel

Tranzit’s journey from a small-town bus operator to a leader in the future of New Zealand transport shows how bold thinking and strong partnerships can drive meaningful change.

6 minute read

In the early 1980s, brothers Paul and Keven Snelgrove bought into the family-owned Masterton transport business their grandfather Albert James (AJ) founded in 1925. By 1984, they had rebranded as Tranzit Group. 

Their vision was clear, to expand across Aotearoa and deliver transport that was reliable and future focused. This included a greater emphasis on public transport.

A legacy of movement and momentum

Tranzit’s sense of continuity and commitment to sustainable transport solutions laid the foundation for its next leap, electrification. In 2017, the company secured major public transport contracts in Wellington and Auckland. This was an opportunity to show how Tranzit’s vision of public transport could serve future generations.

Charging ahead, despite the challenges

Electric buses were still a relatively new concept, both globally and in New Zealand, at the time. Tranzit’s commitment to innovation led them to explore options overseas. 

But Tranzit still had to overcome practical hurdles, like tunnel height restrictions in Wellington, and building charging infrastructure from scratch.

“We [also] searched the world for chargers, because electric buses are only a small part of the puzzle,” says Paul. “It's all the infrastructure behind the scenes. It's the cabling, the power source, the transformers, the charging units.”

One of their first charging stations was set up in Island Bay, Wellington. At the time, this station was the fastest in the southern hemisphere at 450kW, able to “charge a bus within 12 minutes from 10% up to 90%.”

A leap that reshaped the industry

Transitioning to an electric public transport service played a critical role in expanding Tranzit’s operations, with the Wellington contract being a key turning point. 

Tranzit’s first electric bus was built in partnership with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and co-funded by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) –- aptly named EV1. The company then built 10 double-deck electric buses for their Wellington contract, bringing new technology to New Zealand. “To our best understanding,” adds Paul, “we were the only operator that offered a full electric bus, which was [also] the first double-deck electric bus built in the southern hemisphere.”

But the real story lies in how Tranzit scaled up. “Back in 2016, when we won our contract in Wellington, I had the local BNZ managers from Masterton and Napier in my office,” recalls Paul. “I said to them, ‘we've won the contract’ and said how much [funding] we needed, I then said, ‘we just won another contract in Auckland.’ They asked, ‘how much [funding] do you need for that?’ That was a breath of fresh air.”

Hamish Hurley, BNZ’s Client Director, Institutional Banking, shows just how close the relationship is.

“It’s one of the biggest contracts that have gone to one operator – in New Zealand, definitely – and probably the southern hemisphere, for a long time,” says Keven. “BNZ have been really supportive in our growth strategy, as far as electrification is concerned.”

Looking ahead, together

BNZ’s backing at that time helped Tranzit expand its fleet from 29 to 3,000 vehicles – now being one of the largest single-supplier contractors in New Zealand in recent years. Keven thinks, "jointly, we do a good job together."

Since then, Tranzit has continued to form global partnerships and share its learnings with international operators. “Partners, like those in Germany, are asking about charging solutions Tranzit came up with,” Paul tells us. Tranzit also converted two diesel buses to electric, to show an alternative way to decarbonise public transport, in addition to building brand new.

For Tranzit, public transport isn’t just about moving people – it’s about shaping the future. As Paul puts it, “Public transport, to us, is an important part of our environment, the future of the world – not just New Zealand.”

With a century-long partnership, Tranzit sees BNZ as a key part of its future. “BNZ have been our partner for one hundred years. And, hopefully, they're there for another one hundred years.”

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