Electric Buses

Legislative Assembly of New South Wales Committee on Transport and Infrastructure

Report 1/57 – September 2020

Electric buses in regional and metropolitan public transport networks in NSW Report

In 2019 CCBR made a submission to the NSW Government enquiry into electric buses. Nearly a year later, the committee has released its findings.

See the full report here:

Findings and recommendations

Finding 1 : Electric buses reduce air and noise pollution.

Finding 2 : Electric buses are cheaper to maintain and operate.

Recommendation 1 : That Transport for NSW develops a transition plan with clear objectives and timeframes to transition the public transport bus fleet to electric.

Recommendation 2 : That Transport for NSW includes the length of contracts, funding of infrastructure upgrades and bus procurement in the transition plan.

Recommendation 3 : That training for bus drivers includes how to efficiently operate electric buses for safety and to fully realise the potential benefits of electric buses.

Recommendation 4 : That Transport for NSW audits its bus depots to identify local grid capacity and suitability to support the conversion to electric.

Recommendation 5 : That Transport for NSW considers what charging option is suitable for each bus depot and local routes.

Recommendation 6 : That Transport for NSW considers requiring universal chargers for flexible, standard charging across the state.

Finding 3 : A mix of hybrid and battery electric buses may be most suitable for Sydney's bus network.

Recommendation 7 : That Transport for NSW identifies opportunities for renewable energy sources to power the electric bus fleet.

Finding 4 : 25 Hydrogen is an option to power long distance heavy vehicles.

Recommendation 8 : That as part of the transition plan, Transport for NSW considers what charging infrastructure would be suitable for travel between regional areas and within regional centres.

Recommendation 9 : That Transport for NSW requires an automated alert or noise emitter to be installed on electric buses.

Recommendation 10 : That Transport for NSW runs a safety and awareness campaign for pedestrians and road users about electric buses.

Recommendation 11 : That Transport for NSW consults groups that represent people with disability on the accessibility of electric buses.

Recommendation 12 : That training be provided for bus drivers on the needs of passengers with disability.

Finding 5 : There is interest in local manufacturing of electric buses.

Finding 6 : Limited shelf life dictates the need to reuse and repurpose electric bus batteries.