Electric buses will enter the regional bus network for the first time as part of the Victorian state government’s three-year zero emissions bus trial.
Five Victorian bus operators have been selected to trial 41 electric buses on existing bus routes in Melbourne, Seymour and Traralgon as part of the $20 million trial program.
The trial will provide practical information including how electric buses perform and the energy and charging requirements for different types of routes. It will give insights into how zero emissions buses can improve financial and environmental sustainability and customer outcomes.
The majority of the electric buses being introduced through the trial will be built at Volgren’s Dandenong South manufacturing facility.
Seymour will be the first regional town to be fully serviced by electric buses and Latrobe Valley Bus Lines will introduce the first electric bus based in Traralgon. Ventura will convert its Ivanhoe bus depot into Victoria’s first fully zero emissions bus depot by January 2024, charging 26 trial electric buses and one existing electric bus that will operate in the north-eastern suburbs.
In Melbourne’s west, Donric Group will have the trial’s first three electric buses operating in and around Sunbury from August, while CDC Victoria will introduce eight electric buses to service the CBD and eastern suburbs.
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The electric bus rollout will help Victoria reach its net-zero emission target
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ComfortDelGro corporation will roll out eight buses across the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and the CBD.
CDC Victoria will begin with the deployment of one battery-electric bus at its Oakleigh depot in November this year, providing customers with safe, efficient, reliable, smooth, virtually silent and emissions-free bus trips. This battery-electric bus will operate first on routes 601 and 630 covering Huntingdale Station, Monash University, Gardenvale Station and Ormond Station. The remaining seven battery-electric buses will be gradually rolled out across the three-year trial.
CDC will initially invest in six charging outlets at the Oakleigh depot. A further two charging outlets will be installed at the Monash University Bus Interchange for in-field charging to maintain the range of the vehicles and better understand operational requirements for future in-field applications.
ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia CEO Nicholas Yap said the trial and the collaboration is another exciting demonstration of the company’s commitment to investing in zero emissions bus technology.
“For some time now, CDC has been investing in different zero-emission vehicle technologies to explore ways of achieving better environmental and community outcomes and assist governments with achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” he said.
“We have recently announced our foray into hydrogen powered fuel cell electric buses and will be launching two in Geelong in late 2023.
“CDC is also the first and largest operator in Australia with low-emission hybrid bus technology with zone-based zero emissions.”
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The buses will all be built locally in Victoria to create jobs in the state
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The 41 electric buses as part of the trial are in addition to 36 electric buses being rolled out across the metropolitan network by Kinetic, which will operate from the Sunshine West and Heatherton depots.
Under current initiatives, tens of thousands of people will be travelling on at least 78 quieter, smoother and fume-free electric buses each week across the state by mid-2025.
Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll highlighted the importance of this transition for Victorian buses.
“The electric bus trial will be pivotal in our transition to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable transport network,” Carroll said.
“Creating a greener fleet is part of our Bus Plan to develop a more modern and reliable network that will attract more people to the convenience of buses.”
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio noted that this is important for Victoria’s net zero target.
“The addition of 36 electric buses to the Melbourne network and 41 state-wide through the electric bus trial is accelerating our transition to net zero emissions by 2050,” D’Ambrosio said.