Victoria to spend $20 million on three-year trial for zero emissions bus fleet

The Driven

The Victoria Labor government is to allocate $20 million in its next budget to extend and broaden its trials of electric and other zero emissions buses across the state, with a view to switching away from fossil fuels as soon as it can.

Victoria has been running a trial for the past year with an electric bus on a single route in Melbourne, and has 40 hybrid buses in Melbourne and another eight in the Latrobe Valley.

The government now wants to move to the next stage, with a three-year trial of zero emissions buses to trial different technologies – presumably electric and fuel cell – in different regions, and will call for expressions of interest from various providers soon.

Andrews Labor Government is delivering clean, sustainable public transport to keep Victorians moving, with a trial of zero-emission buses to start in the coming months.

The Victorian Budget 2020/21 will invest $20 million in a statewide trial to investigate solutions to achieve a zero- emission bus fleet and create a pipeline of local job opportunities.

The Zero Emissions Bus Trial will run over three years, trialling different technologies on buses right across the state– with an expression of interest for companies to begin soon. The government hopes it can be a boost to local manufacturers and suppliers, including in the electricity supply sector.

To read the full version of this story, please go to our EV-focussed sister site, The Driven and click here…