Kinetic to launch electric buses in southeast Queensland, Australia

Credit: Kinetic

Kinetic has announced that more southeast Queensland bus users will soon be able to benefit from greener public transport as electric buses will be launched by Translink, Volgren and Kinetic on the Gold Coast in September 2022.

The new additions to Kinetic’s Gold Coast fleet are among a number of environmentally-friendly buses that will be introduced to the Queensland public transport network throughout 2022, with the company also set to launch five new vehicles each on the Sunshine Coast and in Cairns via Sunbus.

“This is an exciting moment for public transport customers on the Gold Coast and another important step in making the network more environmentally-friendly for the people of Queensland,” said Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey. “The arrival of these buses in the coming weeks will build on the Palaszczuk government’s commitment that every new bus in southeast Queensland will be zero-emission from 2025, with regional implementation to begin between 2025 and 2030.”

Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said: “This year we’re rolling out buses in a number of different locations to understand how they perform, and understand any lessons that can be learned before we hit the 2025 target. This is all part of our Queensland Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions across our state. Our research shows each electric bus could save as much as 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases over its lifespan and deliver many community benefits with less noise and harmful air pollution.

Kinetic launches first of Melbourne’s new zero-emission buses

In line with its bus electrification efforts, Kinetic also opened Australia’s first 100 per cent electric bus depot at Currumbin Waters in April 2022.

Kinetic Executive General Manager Queensland Matthew Campbell said: “Every time we introduce an electric bus, we remove a diesel one from the road and these are among 20 fully electric vehicles we’ll be rolling out in Queensland in partnership with the Queensland Government. It’s a win for passengers, a win for communities and a win for the environment.”

In addition to achieving Kinetic’s net zero emissions target, the building and deployment of these electric buses will support local jobs – expanding the region’s skilled workforce and strengthening local supply chains – as they will be locally-built in Queensland. 

The first 10 electric buses for the Gold Coast are expected to be finalised by August 2022.