Canberrans will start using electric buses later this year, according to ACT Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel.
Twelve new vehicles will enter the Transport Canberra fleet in a few months.
The electric buses will “provide a quieter, cleaner, and more comfortable experience for Transport Canberra passengers, but they’ll also help us to cut emissions and provide a cleaner environment,” Mr Steel said.
Custom Denning, an Australian manufacturer of electric buses, will supply four Element buses, with “the latest innovation in solid-state battery technology”, Mr Steel said. These will at first be used on route 47, from Belconnen via Whitlam to Denman Prospect.
VDI Australia will lease eight Yutong E12 buses to operate from the Tuggeranong bus depot. The ACT Government partnered with Yutong, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric buses, on a trial of electric buses in 2020.
The ACT Government plans to buy 90 more electric buses, bringing the total number to 102 next year. They are seeking proposals from bus manufacturers.
“This is an important start of the transition to a zero emissions future for Transport Canberra,” Mr Steel said.
Transport emissions are the largest source of emissions in the ACT, now 100 per cent renewable electricity has been achieved, and the transport fleet makes up three per cent of those emissions.
The buses have a range of 450km, but would travel 300 to 350km per day. They would charge overnight at depots in Tuggeranong and Belconnen, using existing grid infrastructure, but with charging installed by bus manufacturers themselves.
Most buses will be housed at the electric bus depot at Woden once it is completed. The ACT Government will work with Evoenergy to augment the electricity grid to support the very large batteries.
The government plans to retrofit the Tuggeranong and Belconnen depots to house the electric buses, and to build a fourth electric depot on the north side.
Although large batteries take energy from the network, they could also give back to the network when needed, Mr Steel noted.
In the meantime, the government is leasing 26 diesel buses short-term from Scania Australia, so they can phase out 34 polluting and disability non-complaint Renault orange buses, which have been on Canberra roads for nearly 30 years.
“That will enable us to deliver a fully accessible fleet of modern lower emissions buses,” Mr Steel said.
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