Victoria’s first all-electric bus depot will be powered up in coming weeks, marking a major milestone in the Andrews Labor Government’s push towards a cleaner and more sustainable bus fleet.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll today visited the Ventura depot in Ivanhoe – which is set to become home to the largest fleet of locally made zero emission electric buses across the state.

The depot is currently being converted into the base for the expanding fleet of electric buses, which forms part of the Labor Government’s $20 million, Zero Emissions Bus (ZEB) Trial.

The trial will inform the transition of around 4,000 diesel buses in the state’s public fleet, including around 2,200 in regional Victoria, to zero emissions. From 2025, all new buses on Victoria’s public transport routes will be zero emissions.

The electric bus bodies in the trial will be built at Volgren’s Dandenong South manufacturing facility in Victoria, supporting local jobs and injecting money into the local economy.

Ventura is moving to a cleaner, greener fleet as part of the trial, with 12 new zero emission buses going into service from the newly converted Ivanhoe depot in March.

The new zero emission buses will operate on nine northern suburbs routes including to La Trobe University, Gowrie Station and Northland Shopping Centre.

Works to convert the Ivanhoe depot continue and include the installation of a new transformer on site and 14 chargers. Electrification specialist Zenobē is managing the upgraded grid connection that supports the 14 dual-gun Tritium fast chargers.

By early 2024, the depot will be home to 27 battery electric buses, transporting up to 10,000 people each week and covering more than 1.2 million kilometres a year in and around the northern suburbs.

Creating a greener fleet is part of Victoria’s Bus Plan to develop a modern and reliable network that attracts more passengers, with the new, greener buses critical to the Labor Government’s goal of net zero emissions by 2045.

Quote attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews

“Victorians deserve a great public transport system – one that’s clean, reliable and sustainable. That’s why we’re rolling out more electric buses, and work on the state’s first all-electric bus depot will soon be complete.”