The first of 100 new buses has now entered the Metro fleet in Launceston as part of the single biggest public transport investment in Tasmania’s history.
The $31 million Government investment has created 26 jobs in the state’s north-west and added to the region’s growing reputation for high-quality advanced manufacturing.
The new buses will be environmentally friendly and more comfortable for commuters, with air-conditioning and low floors that meet the Disability Discrimination Act.
The buses are scheduled to roll out at a rate of one new bus every seven to eight working days, with 13 of the new models already in service in Hobart.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is building the infrastructure Tasmania needs for the future, and the 100 new buses will provide Tasmania with a sustainable public transport system both now and well into the future.
philll Parsons
October 20, 2018 at 05:42
With the IPCC’s latest report painting a grim picture of the future, I feel entirely vindicated in recommending electric buses.
Of the 100 buses, none are electric and none are made in Tasmania. The Liberals from every level of government behave like deniers whilst mouthing platitudes about action on the climate to fool as many voters as they can. They did not even get one electric bus to trial.
Soon it will be hydrogen as a fuel, so let’s hope there is a retrofit of the fleet or a new fleet which will be bought in a few years .. although the 12 year horizon will have passed and, along with the Rest of the World, the impacts will be clear and costing.
Ted Mead
October 20, 2018 at 21:23
Phil – I was disappointed to find that electric buses were not part of the Launceston transport plan. Hobart was supposed to introduce a new fleet of electric buses sometime soon. Maybe the wheels have literally fallen off that proposal also.
If we had any credibility in this state regarding renewable energy we would be following what’s happening with the public bus transport system in China.
I’m sure Barnett and the Libs are seriously looking at how to propel a state-wide bus fleet using woodchips as the fuel source of the future!
Rob Halton
October 21, 2018 at 09:42
Tasmania is a small place in terms of population consistency and where population centres are scattered. This will remain the case as there is little attraction to “mass” population growth into city areas.
The car, and for that matter the delivery van and heavy transport trucks, all with their limitless flexibility despite rising fuel prices, will remain as the “Kings of the Road” into the foreseeable future!
These facts are the facts of life by living on the modern planet where sensible car ownership is the main key to flexibility for the majority of mainstream users.
The question of electric buses for Australia has never been studied to the best of my knowledge, but if so, where were they being “trialed” and in which cities?
I would support the widespread use of electric trains for shifting masses of people and heavy cargoes, but that does not apply to Tasmania one iota.
Trams are out. Currently Light Rail is not viable either, and the introduction of ferries might be marginal too, offering insufficient flexibility for commuters who are not about in mass numbers!
If the new bus fares remain the same as at present the uptake of users will not increase. Special fare structures may have some temporary influence on potential users, but the problem for Tasmania in nearly all cases is that the Car is in control of people’s movements … and there is little to change that!
The State government needs to invest in either a tunnel under Hobart or a bypass behind the city to move traffic away from Davey and Macquarie St, particularly now as major developments are attracted to the Southern region. Hodgman has to change his sleeping-on-the-job pattern far from just imagining that the construction a specific new bus lanes on the Southern Outlet will fix the problem. It won’t!
Palling up with the Morrison government for new infrastructure, and a grant for a project of State Significance, a Hobart Tunnel or City Bypass is the only way to go.
It’s a sorry time for the fools in government who are to stubborn and who can’t see the daylight even when the sun shines on most days!
philll Parsons
October 22, 2018 at 06:23
Halton should go to Adelaide for an electric bus made-in-Oz experience.
No one is advocating the end of the car or van or truck, but a change of fuel is essential and we have to begin moving on that to avoid a climate catastrophe. For an article on electric buses have a read of it Robin. It does wonders for broadening the horizon.
https://www.afr.com/business/transport/electric-buses-are-hurting-big-oil-and-helping-the-warren-buffettbacked-byd-20180424-h0z77j?fbclid=IwAR2A6uUZ7afaAhDaFEHwHGru1JNmI-JJgpP7Vbk1Dkhuu43McpZ70a6vfYw