Malaga depot to be converted for electric buses

The Malaga Bus Depot is set to be the first existing site to be "substantially converted" to operate a fleet of locally built electric buses, arriving onsite by March 2025.

The Truganina Road facility will be retrofitted with electric bus charging infrastructure, with the Public Transport Authority putting the work out for tender.

It will be converted to operate a fleet of Volvo BZL Electric Buses, with the first buses tipped to arrive onsite in March 2025, followed by 11 buses arriving per month.

The installation of the electric bus infrastructure is part of the state and federal governments’ $250 million program to deliver 130 new locally built electric buses and depot upgrades.

“It [the funding] includes delivery of 130 new electric buses, the installation of charging infrastructure at key depots and major upgrades to manufacturing facilities to support the production of electric buses,” PTA spokesperson David Hynes told this masthead.

“The Malaga depot will be the first existing depot to be substantially converted to operate electric buses.”

The works include the design, supply, install and commission of electric bus charge stations, associated infrastructure and software systems. The Malaga site will be fitted with 110 charging dispensers.

The first of Volvo BZL electric buses descended upon Perth in 2022 under a trial of four electric buses operating on the Joondalup CAT service.

Under that trial, the Joondalup bus depot received a high-voltage EV charging system which allowed electric buses to be recharged overnight through the grid network and a 100kW solar array connected to a large on-site battery storage system.

The state government also allocated an initial $22 million to purchase and build 18 new electric buses and install charging infrastructure at the Elizabeth Quay Bus Station.

JET Charge was awarded the contract to install the 18 electric bus charging dispensers around Perth, along with related systems and software in November last year.

Construction was tipped to commence in early 2024, with all 18 electric Perth CAT buses expected to be in operation by mid-2025.

The contract award late last year came after City of Perth lord mayor Basil Zempilas touted plans to build a hydrogen refueling station in West Perth in partnership with ASX-listed Frontier Energy.

Subject to approvals and an investment call, that plan would see Frontier fund the construction of the state’s first hydrogen fueling station on Thomas Street, on a parcel of land owned by the City.