he NSW government has issued a call for expressions of interest to run trials of all-electric buses, ahead of a planned fleet-wide rollout.
In an announcement made on Monday, Transport for NSW says it is looking for proposals from companies that can conduct electric bus trials and work with bus operators across Sydney to plan for a wider switch.
“We have to meet our environmental challenges head-on and learn from cities around the world. We are committed to taking advantage of new technology that reduces the impact that current diesel buses have on air quality and people’s health,” Transport for NSW deputy secretary Elizabeth Mildwater said.
“We want to eventually transition the entire public transport bus fleet to zero emissions as part of our strategy to make public transport more sustainable into the future.”
Last year, NSW transport minister Andrew Constance announced that the NSW government planned to transition the entirety of the 8,000 strong NSW government controlled bus fleet to all-electric models.
“The experience of other leading European cities demonstrates that a rapid transition to zero-emission buses is possible, and I have asked Transport for NSW to work with operators and bus suppliers to develop a plan to transition our fleet as part of the tender process,” Constance said at the time.
As part of the plan, the NSW government is now looking for participants to trial all-electric, as well as hydrogen-fuelled buses, to begin the process of evaluating alternative models.
The NSW government said that it had transitioned to the next stage of the process, after completing a successful ‘market sounding’ approach last year, which found a high level of interest from bus providers and transport operators.
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