The ACT‘s first permanent electric bus has hit the road, providing Canberrans with the most advanced comfort and reliability in public transportation technology.
Minister for Transport Chris Steel said it is a significant milestone for the community as ACT builds the infrastructure to transition its public transport system away from diesel and towards cleaner fuel sources.
“We’ve been ambitious with our investment program to deliver this technology, with 11 more battery electric buses to begin operations across Canberra in the coming weeks and procurement to purchase 90 more underway,” Minister Steel stated.
According to Minister Steel, it is just the start of the program, which will eventually see Canberra transition to a zero-emission public transportation network powered entirely by renewable energy by 2040 or earlier.
“It means we’re on the right path to deliver the world-class public transport network Canberrans deserve, with a mass-transit system in light rail linking north and south of our city, integrated with zero-emissions buses to the suburbs,” the Minister added.
The ACT Government said that part of the Zero-Emission Plan for Transport Canberra includes replacing the outdated bus fleet with cutting-edge technology that is accessible to all members of the community who use the services.
Scania’s supply chain issues have delayed the delivery of 26 leased low-emission diesel buses scheduled to arrive by the end of 2022.
According to the State Government, the rented low-emissions diesel buses, along with the new battery electric buses that were delivered, were designed to guarantee that Canberra’s bus services would meet accessibility standards in the near future while the Government purchased 90 electric vehicles.
“The delay in the delivery of the 26 low-emissions diesel buses means that a small number of old non-accessible diesel Renault buses can’t be completely phased out of our fleet immediately,” Minister Steel said.
Minister Steel stated that fully compliant low-emissions diesel buses are planned to be delivered throughout the first half of this year, gradually replacing the remaining Renault buses.
“While a total of 93 per cent of our city’s buses are already compliant with disability access requirements set out under the Disability Discrimination Act, unfortunately the old orange Renault diesel buses will continue to be used on the bus network for a short period to maintain services for the community until the replacement buses arrive,” Minister Steel added.
Minister Steel advised Canberrans to utilise the travel planner and NXTBUS to determine the type of bus operating on that service and if it is DDA compliant.
Yutong E12s are the first 12 electric buses in Canberra. Yutong is providing charging infrastructure as part of this new technology’s delivery.
Earlier this month, Transport Canberra paid a visit to Scania’s Adelaide plant to check the first of 26 low-emissions diesel buses.
