Electric future starts now as last diesel bus leaves the depot
The last diesel bus ever manufactured in Western Australia has left the Volgren bus manufacturing facility for passenger services.
From today, all new buses manufactured for public transport in WA will be electric.
More than 100 local jobs, including 15 apprentices, are supported at Volgren's Malaga facility - with battery electric buses exclusively produced and delivered for public transport across Western Australia.
Each electric bus has the capability to travel up to 300km on a single charge, saving about 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
Shifting bus manufacturing to fully electric follows on from a $250 million program jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments to deliver an initial 130 electric buses and associated infrastructure and bus depot upgrades.
Work on the $250 million program is well underway including:
- 18 electric buses built at Volgren's Malaga facility and now servicing Perth CAT routes;
- completion of 18 EV charging dispensers at Elizabeth Quay Bus Station;
- soon-to-be-complete electric charging infrastructure at the Malaga bus depot with the first electric bus operating from the facility in mid-2025;
- plans for EV charging infrastructure upgrades to the Karrinyup and Claisebrook bus depots; and
- start of works on the new Bayswater EV depot.
The State Government will allocate an additional $61.9 million in the upcoming State Budget to shift manufacturing to fully electric.
While the upfront cost of an electric bus costs more than a diesel bus, in the long-term, electric buses are cheaper to run and maintain.