State Transit has placed an order for 10 Custom Element electric buses for delivery between November 2021 and March 2022, the first electric buses ordered by State Transit. The vehicles will be based at State Transit’s Waverley depot as part of their Region 9 contract.
The order follows a successful trial of a Custom Element electric bus on routes out of Waverley Depot back in March. The bus trialled was the first electric bus to be built here in NSW, and this order will also be built in NSW at the Custom Denning factory in Western Sydney. Drivers involved in the trial gave the vehicle good reviews, noting a smooth ride quality and excellent braking.
Waverley depot has been chosen for the new electric buses due to the recent decommissioning of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compression station. This has allowed State Transit to repurpose the available CNG substation power for use as part of the required recharging infrastructure for the electric buses.
The Custom Element electric bus has a capacity of 80, with 43 seated. It is a fully low floor bus with 2 wheelchair accessible spaces. On a full charge, which takes up to 5 hours, the Custom Element can operate for up to 16 hours or around 400 kilometres in service. The batteries last for up to 1 million service kilometers.
Transport NSW Blog 