Case study: Low-emissions buses across Queensland
The Queensland Government’s focus will expand beyond private passenger vehicles by working towards decarbonising our public transport network. By 2030, every new urban bus that is added to the contracted fleet across Queensland will have zero emissions.
In April 2021, the Queensland Government achieved the first fully-electric bus route – route 587 – on the TransLink network in Yarrabilba. On the same day, Transdev introduced its battery electric bus to the Redland Bay/Capalaba area. This bus is powered by energy generated from solar panels stored on the Tesla batteries. It has driven more than 18,000km and is proving popular with both drivers and passengers.
Later in 2021, Clarks Logan City Bus Service will start rolling out 10 battery-electric buses, all locally built on the Gold Coast and charged using locally built chargers.
In 2022, Sunbus will introduce 5 electric buses into their fleet on the Sunshine Coast and another 5 buses into Cairns.
In Mackay, the Queensland Government is partnering with Mackay Transit Coaches to trial 2 buses fuelled from bio-ethanol, locally produced at Sarina.
The government is also in early discussions to trial hydrogen fuel cell buses in Queensland.
Public transport already delivers major environmental benefits and these zero-emissions buses will continue to make Queensland’s public transport network more sustainable.