ELECTRIC SUNRISE
Today’s test drive of the electric Volgren Optimus on Chinese BYD DR9A 860 (K9) chassis is a first for Victoria’s public transport network – and it’s only fitting that the bus was built and put together in Melbourne.
Transdev Australasia is the proud owner of this first Volgren-BYD electric bus (it’s based at Transdev’s North Fitzroy depot where a charging station has been installed) and it has partnered with the Victorian government to conduct these important trials.
It began carrying passengers on Route 246 services between Elsternwick and Clifton Hill via St Kilda in December 2019. The trial will continue until January 2021, and will be reviewed to determine the potential to roll out fully electric buses across Victoria, the state government confirms.
You can’t get more local than a bus built at the Volgren factory in Dandenong. Here, both the body construction and fitout has been completed under the Victorian Government’s Local Jobs First initiative, which is great for ensuring backing the local automotive industry to continue to develop new capabilities and innovation.
RELATIONSHIP TRUST
The head of engineering for Transdev Australasia, Marc Cleave, has a wealth of knowledge and experience both here and overseas with bus manufacturing, design engineering and now driving the development of electric buses for the company. Cleave’s knowledge combined with Transdev’s overseas success as the first zero-emission operator in Europe, as it says, is a combination sure to help get our industry
