The switch has officially been thrown on Canberra's long-awaited transition to zero-emission buses with the first of the Chinese-built electric models arriving in the territory.
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It is the first of 12 Yutong E12 battery electric buses leased by the ACT government and being prepared for service in the first quarter of 2023.
The 2021-22 ACT budget allocated $3.1 million to this project, rising to $9.5 million in 2022-23 and $11 million in 2023-24.
However, having electric buses passenger-ready and trundling the streets is not as straight-forward as has been the case with ACTION's traditional diesel buses.
Not only will the electric buses need to be commissioned, registered and installed with the ticketing hardware, CCTV and communications, as well as identifying zero-emission decals, there is also the complication of installing the required high-voltage recharging infrastructure. Training is also being provided to staff and drivers.
Twelve of the Yutong E12 buses will be charged at the existing Tuggeranong depot, with the next phase of buses also being charged in Belconnen and later at the all-electric Woden depot, when it is completed.
Construction on stage 2 of the new Woden depot is underway, with Evoenergy contracted to provide the high voltage infrastructure.
The ACT government is committed to bringing 90 electric buses into service over the the next three years and built into the contracts will be the necessity to be able to swap out the older batteries to take advantage of new battery technology as it becomes available.
While the Yutongs with their lithium-ion battery packs will be part of the early fleet rollout, they will likely be supplemented later by Australian-made Custom Denning Element buses which use innovative solid-state batteries.
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After the phase-in period, the buses will integrate with light rail as part of the ACT government's Multi-Modal Network Plan, as outlined in the territory's long-term transport strategy.
In a response to questions on notice to the ACT Assembly, Transport Minister Chris Steel said that initially, the plan "will simply overlay existing transport networks including the strategic cycle network plan, indicative light rail network and rapid public transport network".
Longer term, it will "consider multiple future scenarios to help with planning for increasing demand for public transport and the uptake of electric vehicles and other technology".
"We're delighted to have these first 12 electric buses join the fleet to deliver cleaner, quieter and more comfortable transport services," Minister Steel said.
"The future of our transport system is mass-transit light rail, linking our city and town centres, integrated with electric buses running to the suburbs, all running on 100 per cent renewable energy."
The Yutong E12 buses are in service throughout the world including in the UK, France, Finland, Bulgaria and Denmark, and are also part of the new generation bus fleet being rolled out by Transport NSW.
They have a 350km range and take between three to five hours to recharge.
Key features of the Yutongs are an ultra-flat floor with the battery packs mounted underneath, a built-in wheelchair ramp, regenerative braking, air suspension, and seating configurations for up to 44 passengers.
The current Woden bus interchange will close permanently from Sunday, January 29 next year and temporary arrangements put in place while construction starts on the new CIT campus and public transport interchange.
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