Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Electric buses

Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (17:41): (2004) My adjournment is for the Minister for Public Transport. The New South Wales government announced yesterday that they will be investing $218.9 million over the next seven years to support the bus fleet to move to electric. They have also committed to setting aside a further $2 billion to begin the transition. This is so that all New South Wales public buses are renewable power electric buses by 2030. The ACT has the same ambition for 2040. Transitioning the bus fleet to electric is not only critical to reaching net zero but also reduces noise on our streets, improves air quality and provides commuters with a better ride.

A $20 million zero-emission bus trial in Victoria is expected to begin in 2024. The trial will include 27 electric buses that will be operating on nine routes across the northern suburbs. My understanding is that this is in preparation for all buses bought from 2025 onwards to be electric. But we need to move faster. We need to have charging infrastructure in place now, and we need to start building multiple electric bus depots tomorrow. We know that buses last roughly 20 years. This means that diesel buses we buy today will not be replaced by electric buses until 2042. With a looming climate crisis that is too late.

Transport is the third-highest emitting sector of Australia’s economy. There is a serious need to accelerate Victoria’s shift to electric buses and increase public transport patronage. Post pandemic we have struggled to get people out of their cars and back onto trains, buses and trams. This all has to be addressed if we are going to mitigate our transport emissions. Minister, will the government match New South Wales’s commitment to convert all public buses to renewable-powered electric buses by 2030?