In news that shatters the worst kept secret in the Australian bus industry the South Australian state government’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) has announced that Scania will be supplying 60 battery-electric city buses to the state as part of its program to reduce its carbon footprint.
The new buses, will be produced later this year with the first tranche of deliveries set to be delivered in November .
The new electric buses will be Scania K-series two-axle low entry buses for use in urban operations around the city of Adelaide, with the bodies built by Volgren.
The new electric buses have a seating capacity of 43 passengers and Scania claims a maximum range of more than 400 kilometres.
Scania says all of the vehicles will feature its full suite of advanced driver assistance systems, which the company says are designed to address interactions with other road users.
The company says the systems increase road safety by supporting the driver to keep the vehicle in the right position, while also controlling the speed and distance from other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Scania says the agreement to supply the buses includes options for additional buses each year through to June 2029, in a deal that it says will further reinforce its strong position in ‘sustainable transport solutions in Australia’.
“This order is not only strategically significant for Scania; it also demonstrates the strength of our ongoing partnership with DIT,” said Steven Godbold, the contract manager for government bus for Scania Australia in South Australia and Tasmania.
The head of urban solutions at Scania Group, Anna Ställberg, added that this landmark deal means Scania will support South Australia’s transition to a cleaner, more sustainable public transport network,.
“It will also increase our penetration of the Australian electric vehicle market,” said Ställberg.
Scania said it also marks the beginning of the state’s commitment to electrify its fleet of more than 1,000 buses, with 825 Scania vehicles already in service in SA.
In other Scania bus news, it seems the NSW government has ordered a new fleet of Scania bendy buses, also to be built with Volgren bodies to supplement the states wounded fleet of Volvo bendy buses, many of which have been off the road undergoing urgent repairs and modifications to fix severe cracking.
Scania Australia would not comment on or confirm the NSW bendy bus deal as it seems the news had not been cleared by NSW Transport. Apparently the state political reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, Alexandra, Smith had been given a briefing by a zealous government transport spokesperson who it seems could not resist emphasising that the new buses would be Scania and not the troublesome ‘cracking’ Volvo bendy buses that had caused the government so much angst. So while Scania couldn’t announced the deal, the news still seeped out via an eager government apparatchik.
