The arrival of the 50th vehicle to Australia’s largest hybrid bus fleet was celebrated at the ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia (CDC) Wyndham depot on Monday, October 17.
Completed in partnership with the Department of Transport, the roll-out of 50 hybrid buses to service Melbourne customers marks a significant milestone for Victoria’s public transport network since being introduced in April 2019.
The low-floor buses met strict standards, in an effort to reduce emissions, noise pollution and fuel consumption.
“CDC is committed to reducing greenhouse emissions and we have demonstrated this through investment and ongoing research into the available and developing technologies which can help us with our environmental goals and assist governments with achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” CDC chief executive Jeff Wilson said.
“While the different technologies – such as battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell – have benefits that we will take advantage of as we advance through our zero-emissions vehicle journey, one of the great things about our Volvo Volgren hybrid buses is that they benefit from mature technology which is available for use, right now.
“This means they are already helping us to fulfil our goal of providing tangible environmental benefits while delivering our services without the need for major infrastructure changes, acting as a crucial step down the path towards zero emission vehicles.”
Mr Wilson said the roll out of the hybrid fleet has enabled fuel savings of around 30 per cent and carbon dioxide emission reductions of 30 per cent compared to diesel buses.
“In just over three years, the CDC Victoria hybrid fleet has reduced fuel use by over 826,000 litres and prevented the release of over 2,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions, compared to the vehicles the hybrids replaced,” he said.
