First locally-made electric bus charges into passenger services

• First locally-made electric bus begins passenger services in the Perth CBD
• The first bus will be among 18 new electric Perth CAT buses
• 130 new electric buses and infrastructure upgrades being delivered as part of $250 million program
• The program is jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments

Western Australia's first locally-made electric bus has today begun passenger services, marking a major milestone in delivering a cleaner and lower-emissions public transport network.

The first electric bus will operate on the Perth CAT routes in the CBD, with a further 17 electric CAT buses expected to be rolled out for passenger services by the middle of next year.

The 18 electric buses will be supported by new charging infrastructure, which has been installed at the Elizabeth Quay Bus Depot.

Each electric bus can travel up to 300km on a single charge and will save about 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Analysis has also shown the operating cost of an electric bus over its 18-year service life is about $1 million less than existing diesel buses.

The first locally-made electric bus has been delivered as part of a joint $250 million State and Commonwealth Government initiative, which will see 130 new electric buses added to the network and infrastructure upgrades undertaken at a range of depots.

The State Government recently awarded contracts totalling $12 million to local Perth businesses Civcon and Gemtek to upgrade and retrofit the Malaga bus depot for electric bus charging capabilities.

The first electric bus is expected to be delivered to the Malaga depot next year, which will service the northern suburbs and the CBD.

Further upgrades are planned at other depots around Perth including Karrinyup, Whiteman Park and Claisebrook.

The investment to deliver the new electric bus fleet in Western Australia is directly supporting more than 100 local jobs, including nine apprenticeships.

Staff have also undertaken specialised high-voltage technical training in recent weeks to prepare them for the growing electric bus fleet.

Comments attributed to Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:

"This is a big milestone for our electric bus manufacturing program, and I am thrilled the community will now be able to jump on board the first locally-made zero-emission bus.

"This is a fantastic program that is not only helping deliver a cleaner and lower-emissions public transport network but helping to drive local manufacturing jobs.

"In expanding the State's fleet of electric buses, we are not only reducing carbon emissions, but we're also creating positive change economically by supporting more than 100 local jobs and saving up to $1 million in operating costs over its 18-year service life.

"In the next couple of years, we will see the fleet of electric buses grow substantially, while significant investment will also be undertaken to ensure our network of depots have the infrastructure in place to support operations."

Comments attributed to Perth MLA John Carey:

"Our Government is driving the revitalisation of our city and is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to create jobs, economic activity and attract more people to the Perth CBD.

"To ensure our city remains connected, and to deliver lower emissions across our transport network, it's brilliant that our new locally-made electric Perth CAT buses will be rolling out from today across the Perth CBD."