Transport Canberra and City Services’ electric operational vehicles were displayed at King Edward Terrace on Thursday.
08 September 2023
ACT Government electric operational vehicles were displayed at King Edward Terrace on Thursday, ahead of World EV Day on 9 September.
While most Canberrans would be familiar with the territory’s electric buses, they may have been surprised to also see electric mowers, a street sweeper, excavator, tipper truck and mini-bus.
Transport Canberra and City Services’ growing electric fleet demonstrates the ACT Government’s commitment to achieve zero net emissions from government operations by 2040.
Next year, these vehicles will be joined by an electric litter collection truck, which will replace a diesel utility vehicle. Another 94 electric buses are also set to be added to the fleet over coming years.
The bus transition, combined with the introduction of light rail, means 20 per cent of overall public transport trips in Canberra are powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity.
The addition of electric buses to Canberra roads is having an impact on Transport Canberra staff, as well as the environment.
Trainer Assessor Jeff works in bus operations, carrying out licence upgrades and in-house training.
This includes showing bus drivers how to operate the new vehicles.
“After extensive familiarisation training at the beginning of the year, I then spent the first initial six weeks teaching drivers how to work the electric buses. Within that six weeks I drove over 200 kilometres just in the Tuggeranong depot training staff, before handing the training over to my colleagues to continue the education,” he said.
To Jeff, the buses present both a big and little change. “Someone asked me how to describe it once and I said they are wonderfully normal.
“They have lots of power, they go very well compared to diesel buses. They are like any new car, it’s always nice to drive something that’s brand new. They go very nicely, they drive and steer like any other bus and are quite comfortable,” he said.
In addition to buses and maintenance vehicles, Transport Canberra and City Services is also ensuring all newly leased government passenger vehicles are zero emissions where fit for purpose.
The target is to transition the entire passenger fleet to zero emission by 2025.
World EV Day presents a great time to showcase the electric vehicles in Transport Canberra and City Services’ fleet and highlight what's next for the transition.
In its fourth year, World EV Day helps to unite companies, individuals, governments and others for a day of announcements that continue to propel e-mobility around the world.
More information on World EV day can be found online at WorldEVday.org
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