Busways has announced it will be partnering with Transport for New South Wales to develop the first purpose-built battery electric bus depot at Macquarie Park, Sydney.
With an investment of 115 million AUD, concept designs for the site are already underway, with construction expected to begin in early 2025.
The depot, which is hoped to improve public transport services to the lower North Shore and Northwest suburbs of Sydney, will feature capacity for up to 165 electric buses and a robust charging infrastructure, with an expected opening date of the end of 2027.
Chris Wolf, head of the ZEB transition program at Busways, said Busways was partnering closely with Transport for NSW to support design and development:We’ve already designed and built five brand new bus depots in Sydney and are operating 18 ZEBs in our Penrith Depot, plus running a ZEB testing program and contributing to the development of Australian-built charging optimisation technology.
We’re inputting our knowledge from these projects to ensure the new depot’s design is ultra efficient and has strong amenities to support and attract employees to deliver robust zero emissions services to the community.
The new Macquarie Park electric bus depot will set a new benchmark for Zero Emission Bus adoption in Australia. It will be Busways’ first purpose built electric depot, with plans to convert more depots to electric fleets in the coming years.
In addition to the primary development, an underground employee car park of roughly 150 spaces is set to be built within the surrounding area, with Pittwater Road also planned to be widened in order to facilitate bus access to and from the depot.
